


Kingsman Academy

by jaimistoryteller



Category: Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Alternate Universe - Shapeshifters, Anal Sex, Blow Jobs, Fluff, Friendship, Kingsman is a School, M/M, Past Child Abuse, Slow Build, Smut, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-16
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2018-05-04 20:20:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 33,486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5347316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jaimistoryteller/pseuds/jaimistoryteller
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>All shifters are required to take lessons learning how to control their abilities. Harry is a teacher at Kingsman Academy where new shifters between 20 to 25 years of age go for their training, he is also a snow-leopard, one of the rarest varieties of shifter, so he is surprised when the newest student is a snow-leopard as well</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Discovery

**Author's Note:**

  * For [](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts).



> I love any sort of reviews, comments, and communication, even on stories where the entire thing is posted at once. Please feel free to leave a comment on each chapter as you read it if you have guess and ideas what will happen so I can see what you think of the chapters and the ideas it gives you.
> 
> Lots of thanks to TheMadKatter and NoOrdinarySouthernGirl for all of their help with this story.

Harry POV  
“Touch her again and I’ll rip your throat out,” the young man snarls as he pins a much larger man to the outside pub wall by the throat. Sharp claws are sinking into the sides of the human’s throat, drawing blood.

He moves closer, watching the altercation and studying everything in the scene from the bruising on the boy’s body, the cowering blonde human female, the small group of lost-looking thugs, and the large, brutish human the boy is attacking.

“You little shit!” The pinned man yells. “I’m going to kill you, you fucking freaking!” Glaring, the brutish human doesn’t move within the shifter’s grasp, almost as if he is afraid to or can’t.

“I’d heard rumors of an unregistered shifter in this area, though I did not not expect to find them quite like this,” he murmurs to himself as he moves closer. He is mildly startled when the boy seems to hear him. Now that he is closer to the boy, he can tell that the young man is not as young as he originally thought.

Pressing the human’s throat a bit tighter, the young man continues to glare at the human, low growls escaping his lips, around razor sharp teeth that have elongated into a more feline set.

“Let him go, young man,” he remarks calmly as he moves closer.

“Why should I?” The younger shifter snarls, claws sinking even further into his captive’s skin. “He’ll just go back to beatin’ us.”

Pulling his phone out of his pocket, he quickly dials up the number for a wolf that he went to the academy with who works in law enforcement and is occasionally needed when he is collecting a recently presented from an unfortunate situation. “Alistair?” He greets the other man.

“Harry, whatcha need?” the wolf inquires easily.

After rattling off the address of pub, he instructs, “Send an officer; there appears to be a case of abuse and discrimination against a recently presented shifter.”

“Got it. There's a team on the way,” the wolf replies grimly before hanging up.

“Let him go,” he tells the younger man as he moves over to where he is standing. “He won't be hurting anyone else any time soon.”

Sharp eyes flicker at him before narrowing slightly at the human. Snarling one last time, the younger man slams the human’s head against the wall, then lets him drop to the ground. Stepping back, the younger shifter stands there, chest heaving, blood slowly dripping from his claws, his eyes gleaming dangerously.

“Interesting,” he murmurs as he continues to watch the young man, studying him closely with both his human and feline senses. Early twenties, sandy blonde-brown hair, green-gray eyes, lightly tanned skin, with visible bruising on his hairline and a partial handprint peeking out from the edge of his collar near his jaw.

A few minutes later, the sound of sirens reach their ears and moments after that, two cars pull up. Out of the first vehicle climbs Alistair and his apprentice.

“Harry, good to see you. Where's the arse that's goin’ with me?” the wolf asks as his eyes sweep the area.

“Bleeder on the ground,” he answers, pointing his umbrella at the human.

“Right then,” the wolf nods. “That one, boys, along with those four, because I know their kind. Humans can have far more vicious pack mentalities than a wolf pack.” Alistair motions to the ones who looked like they'd planned on attacking the young shifter as well.

He watches as the humans are rounded up by the officers, placed in the cars, and driven off. Turning to the younger shifter, he discovers that he's already left his side to calm the blonde woman down. Instead of interrupting, he takes stock of the facts and quickly records them with his camera on his glasses; since he often finds young half breeds in bad situations, his glasses act as a recording device as a way to deal with the abusers and problems he may discover.

Merlin, his long time friend and one of the senior members of the school, assists him in getting the younger shifters out of those situations by getting the documentation to the proper authorities.

After the blonde woman finally relaxes and calms down, she leaves on her own despite the fact a black boy who appears to be a friend of  the recently presented boy offers to escort her once she has squeezed the younger man’s shoulder in goodbye. Just moments after, that he strides over to the shifter, it is time to do his job.

“Harry Hart,” he introduces himself. “I am one of the scouts and teachers for Kingsman Academy which, if I am not mistaken, would be the correct one for you.”

Tensely, the younger shifter turns to him, eyes still shimmering with feline pupils rather than human ones. “You look familiar.”

“Do I?” he replies questioningly, now that he is face to face with the shifter, he realizes that he is familiar as well. “Are you related to a Lee Unwin by chance?”

Tightly, the young man nods once without saying anything.

Realization hits like a brick, this cub must be the child Lee had prior to being deployed. He visited their home once, years before. As the only scout with military training, he had been sent to retrieve a soldier who presented in a combat situation, and Lee had saved his life by getting between him and the recently presented soldier, and a grenade. Though he had offered the widow and her child a favor if they ever needed it, it was never called in. That means the blonde woman must have been Michelle Unwin, time and life have not been kind to her.

“We met once before,” he murmurs, “though you were a lot younger then. Eggsy, if I remember correctly.”

Again, the young man nods without speaking.

“As an agent of the academies, primarily Kingsman Academy for the recently presented between the ages of twenty to twenty-five, I am required to legally enroll you,” he remarks calmly, “We should gather what you would like to take with you.”

Slowly the younger man nods one more time. “Alright.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to leave me reviews on any chapters you have thoughts on! I like hearing what people think as they read


	2. Kingsman Academy

Eggsy’s POV  
Fucking hell, that arsehole Dean has caused him to out himself as a shifter. Now he only has two choices: go to the academy that matches his age... or go to jail until he agrees to the academy. Might as well just go straight to the academy. Who’s going to make sure that the arsehole’s rage is not taken out on his mum or sister though?

When the posh bloke with chocolate eyes and sleek hair approaches, he gets even angrier. This man smells like a shifter, and not a recently presented one either. Damn it, he’s out of time sooner than he wanted, this shifter is a stranger guaranteed he will turn him in.

Their exchange in front of the pub is cool and hostile to say the least, and the fact that there is something familiar about him makes it all the worse. Why is this stranger familiar? He shouldn’t be. It is when he turns and his glasses flash in the sunlight that he remembers the man who had come to the flat years before, the one who had told his mum and him about his dad’s death, and it clicks into place: this is that man. Though he doesn’t look like he's aged a day.

After the arse and his goons have been dragged away by the coppers, he heads back to his home, the posh shifter not far behind, watching him with thoughtful eyes through his rather large framed glasses. Since he can tell that the lenses are on the thin side, there must be a different reason for the fact that they are so thick. Well, then, a mystery to figure out. When they reach his home, he doesn’t bother inviting the older man in, though his mum does. She is calmer now than she had been when she left the pub. Well that’s a good thing.

Repacking his duffle with the few items he had taken to boot camp only takes him a few moments  before he had dropped to avoid detection. Of course, whenever someone asks, he blames it on his mum, who had actually freaked about the idea of him being in a war zone and dying the same way his dad had, he just hadn't pandered to her fears. Everyone who has ever met her has automatically believed him.

Back in the living room, he discovers the shifter, 'Harry' he'd said his name was, quietly playing with his baby sister, an unusual look in those chocolate colored eyes that would look an awful lot like longing in a human’s eyes. 'Does the shifter long for a child? Why not find his mate and have one then?' he wonders as he continues to observe.

“Ready Eggsy?” the older man asks as he gently pats Daisy on the top of her head and stands.

“Yeah,” he responds, moving closer to his mum. “You know the law,” he murmurs, eyes searching her face.

“I do,” she replies with a watery smile. “Take care of yourself, Eggsy.”

“You take care of you and Daisy,” he answers, giving her a tight hug and a kiss on the cheek.

“Dean and his associates will not be leaving the jail for quite some time,” Harry remarks, motioning to his sister as he continues. “This little girl will present as a shifter in her future. That means that her safety is considered paramount, and a threat to it will not be allowed back into the home.”

He can feel his mum tremble as she listens, but she nods in understanding.

A few minutes later the two of the are off and he finds himself in the back of a small cab. The ride to the Academy was smooth and quiet. Despite being lost in a myriad of thoughts, he could still feel the older shifter watching him.

It is still daylight when an old, dull, golden-gray slate building with white framed windows comes into view. A series of small steps leads up to a porch with four white-gray pillars holding up an overhang sheltering the front frosted glass and wooden door. The entire main building appears to have been made in pieces over the years. There is a visible green house with a hedge surrounding it to the right of the main building, the hedge goes roughly half way up the greenhouse wall. The driveway is a half-circle leading right up to the front of the building. He can see a group of males and females leaving the building and heading towards the greenhouse.

Pulling up to the front of the sprawling building, the car comes to a stop and the posh shifter gets out of the vehicle first. “Come along, Eggsy,” Harry remarks, “let’s get you settled in.”

Rolling his eyes, he climbs out of the car, his bag in his grasp as he follows the older shifter up the steps and into the mansion. His eyes sweep around the building as they move through it. Heading up a flight of steps and through a door, the shifter stops by a door and motions to it.

“This will be your room. Normally they are shared, however we currently have eight males and four females already living here, making you an odd number, thus you get your own room.” Harry tells him steadily. “None of the rooms have locks, however, no one should enter unless you invite them in. The other students are in various stages of learning to control their shifting. Tonight you can settle in, tomorrow you will see the headmaster about being evaluated to determine where you will be placed for your classes.”

“Fine,” he answers, opening the door and glancing about.

There are two beds pressed against opposite walls. At the end of each bed is a dresser and beside each bed is a night stand with a lamp. There is a desk with a chair in front of the bedroom window that is currently closed and covered with a closed dark gold curtain. The walls are all a light cream with amber maple trim. The carpet is plush amber, brown, and tan all mixed together. Both beds are made up with plain dark brown comforters and bed sets.

“Dinner is an hour. Would you like to look around on your own, have someone show you around, or I can fetch you just before?” the older shifter inquires as he tilts his head slightly.

“I’ll wander,” he responds, trying to decide whether he wants to start up here or go downstairs.

Nodding, the shifter turns on the ball of his feet and leaves, leaving him alone.

Right then, he thinks, up here first, down there second.

Setting his bag down on one of the beds, he leaves the room, closing the door behind him. Standing in the hall, he takes a deep breath, pulling the various scents in and working on learning them.

He can identify at least one wolf, two hogs, some sort of bird, and a fox. There are a few other scents he cannot recognize, and he realizes all of the scents are male. This must be the male wing of the school. Or at least this hall is for males only.

Quietly, he goes from room to room, opening each door only slightly and taking a deep breath until he has completely taken in all ten scents.

Ten scents? There is only eight males that are here for training, so why is he smelling ten distinct male scents? Interesting, he'll have to look into that.

From there, he leaves the hall, heading into another part of the mansion where he discovers the girls rooms, finding five female scents, rather than four. Hmmmmm. He finds one more hall upstairs that is blocked by a locked door.

'Should he pick the lock and explore?' Not yet he decides, maybe later.

Next up, he heads downstairs, and sets to exploring the downstairs area, discovering where the kitchen, dining room, classrooms, library, and computer room. Glancing at his phone, he notes that he realizes that there is ten minutes until it is time for dinner, so he heads to the dining area, entering it just as several others come in as well.

He leans against the wall as he watches them, not bothering to draw attention to himself.

He counts the eight young men and four young women his age, and at least five people that are older than him. The last to enter is the shifter he came in with along with a taller bald man.

“Ah, Gary, please join us at the table,” an old man with white hair and a very wrinkly face calls out, summoning him away from the wall.

Straightening, he heads over to the table, taking one of the empty seats in the area between where the adults and young adults are. He gets the impression that they do not interact any more than they must.

“Gary-,” the older man begins again.

“Eggsy,” he interrupts, correcting the oldest shifter seriously.

“Eggsy,” the white-haired shifter repeats scowling at him, “I am Headmaster King. This is my staff: Harry Hart, Merlin Ruiseal, Richmond Valentine, and Ashley Brayfond. These are your fellow students: Roxy, Gazelle, Amelia, Nikki, Charlie, Digby, Rufus, Aaron, William, Christopher, James, and Anwar. The last three, Novia, Oren, and Haley, are recent graduates working on finding their own place.” As the headmaster speaks, he motions to each person in turn.

“Eggy? What sort of name is Eggy?” Charlie questions sarcastically. After giving him a disdainful glance, the other shifter continues, “Where’d they dig you up?”

The black-haired girl introduced as Gazelle glares at Charlie, while the brunette girl introduced as Roxy clearly states, “How we present is considered private,” with her own disdainful look at the shifter.

A cocky grin curved the one called Digby’s lips as he comments, “No need to bite his head off. Charlie’s only making conversation, right, Charlie?”

“Hmmm,” is the only response from the other shifter.

He is not surprised by the fact the teachers are staying out of it; he doesn’t think they're actually listening on their end of the table.

After several minutes of silence while a waiting staff lays out the food, the one called Rufus is next to speak. “So, Eggy, are you Oxford or Cambridge?”

He has to stop himself from rolling his eyes as he answers, “Neither.” He doesn’t look like a uni posh boy.

“Saint Andrews?” Charlie inquires a bit perplexed.

“Durham?” Digby asks, expression saying he is trying to consider some of the other good universities. Or, at least, what he considers a good university.

Sarcastically Rufus asks, “No, wait, I think we may have met. Did you serve me at the McDonald’s in Winchester service station?”

Smirking, he answers, “No, but if I had, I’d have given you an extra helping of secret sauce,” his words are polite but his tone is anything but.

“Definitely Saint Andrews,” Charlie mutters as he make his plate from the food on the table.

“Ignore them,” Roxy suggests. “They’re pure blood idiots.”

“Watch who you’re talking about, falcon,” Charlie snarls in her direction.

“Or what fox? You’ll eat me?” She snorts. “Just one wing is bigger than your entire body.”

“Enough. It is dinner time, mind your manners,” the Scottish sounding full shifter identified as Merlin scolds  calmly.

He nods, making his plate and eating it while the others start to talk softly among themselves again. While he eats, he listens carefully, taking note of who is teamed up with who.  It never hurts to know who the cliques are, particularly in a place like this were blood status is probably considered important too.

“Do you know what sort of animal you can change into?” the quiet one who was identified as Amelia asks.

“A cat?” he replies, keeping it general because he doesn’t want to give away the fact he has been shifting for nearly a decade. Shifters are rarely able to hide for a months, let alone years, and he does not want to explain how or why he has been able to. Bad enough that he can't keep hiding and has been publically discovered. “My great grandmum was some sort of cat, so I'll probably be some sort of cat too.”

“Are not your parent’s shifters?” the Arabian looking young man identified as Anwar inquires with wide eyes.

“No, neither my mum or dad were shifters, though my maternal great grandmum was a cat, and my paternal great-great grandmum and grandad were either weasels or ferrets.”

“You’re a mutt?” Charlie exclaims, wide eyed and disbelieving. “Then you might never fully shift! You shouldn’t be here!”

“Mr. Hesketh, watch your tongue. You will have manners,” the instructor identified as Richmond Valentine states from his spot.

“Yes sir,” Charlie replies sullenly, dropping his head down submissively.

The rest of dinner goes smoothly, if a bit quietly, though the ladies sitting near him draw him into their conversation. They are all a lot nicer to him than the males.

Towards the end of dinner, Roxy makes a comment that sticks with him, “They only act like arses because they want to prove dominance over you.”

He nods. That actually makes a lot of sense.

After dinner, he explores the school a bit more, learning the rest of the ground floor before finding a door to the basement and taking it. The basement is more interesting than the upstairs, particularly when he notices the full sized gym including a training area for gymnastics and acrobatics, a pool, weightlifting area, and indoor obstacle courses. There is also an indoor archery range, fencing area, physiotherapy area, boxing ring, climbing wall, and all of the supplies to go with each area.

It’s huge; far larger than he would expect considering that the above ground is somewhat modest.

Shaking his head, he returns upstairs and heads to the room he has to himself. He can smell that the others got close to his door, but none of them had entered. However, after years of living around arses, he carefully checks for any traps and tricks that they might have left before entering the room. Tomorrow he will be tested and assigned his classes, but for tonight, he will get comfortable and adapt. What other choice is there?

 


	3. Evaluations

Eggsy’s POV  
He hears when everyone starts walking down the hall, and as a result of that, is up and dressed before there is a rap at his door. While he doesn't have any clothes as fine as the other students, not that it  bothers that he doesn't him, he dresses for comfort and ease of motion.

“Eggsy?” he hears the one identified as Oren call through the door.

Opening the door, he flashes a sassy smile. “Yeah?”

“I’m to take you to the headmaster after breakfast. Wasn’t sure if they told you what the meal schedule is.” The older shifter responds with a quick and easy smile, one that is surprisingly friendly.

“They hadn’t,” he replies calmly, his rough accent noticeable compared to the other shifter's smoother tones.

“Care to walk with me to breakfast? I was originally from the city as well,” Oren comments. “Are you looking forward to being able to shift?” the older shifter inquires as he steps out of his room and shuts the door.

His smile changes from sassy to pleased as he thinks about all the times he has shifted before answering, “Yeah, I think it will be nifty.”

“Do you know what type of cat your gran was?” the older shifter inquires as they walk down the hall towards the dining room.

“Leopard or lynx, meybe,” he responds easily. “Yourself?”

As they head into the dining room, the older man answers, “I’m a Eurasian lynx.” Oren chuckles, tilting his head and eyes flashing feline like for a moment. “Third one in my family, most my family are Iberian lynx. I was a late bloomer; a common issue among purebloods.”

He makes some acknowledging noises but doesn’t actually comment. Mostly because he thinks the late blooming has to do with too much inbreeding, but so far this young man has been nice, so there is no reason to be mean to him.

When they get to the table, he’s startled to see that the only teacher there seems to be Merlin.

“Most the teachers eat in their rooms or in the private dining room,” Roxy explains nicely when she sees him glancing about. “At least for breakfast and lunch, unless there is something they feel we need to know. Breakfast is served from seven to eight am, classes start at eight fifteen, lunch is served between noon and one thirty pm, private lessons are after lunch, dinner is between six to eight pm, and afterwards is  free time until midnight, unless you earned some disciplinary action. Midnight to six am is lights out, all students have to be in their rooms. Six am to seven am is-”

“Probably have a lot of discipline problems,” one of the shifters who tried causing problems the night before mutters, interrupting Roxy as she tells him about the schedule. He isn't able to figure out which one though because they are all sitting relatively close together and he hasn't exactly memorized whose scents and voices belong to whom yet.

“Ignore the idiots,” Gazelle suggests as she takes a seat, a plate full of food in her hands. “Foods over there on the buffet that gets set out for breakfast and lunch.”

“Thanks,” he responds to the girls, heading over to make himself a plate. He notices that Oren had not, that he is only drinking juice from the table.

Breakfast goes relatively quickly, most of the people at the table are quiet as they eat, occasionally talking to the person closest to them, but not very loudly. He quickly figures out who is a morning person and who is not, keeping that info tucked in the back of his mind for later.

As soon as he is done eating, Oren queries, “Ready?”

“Yeah. " He pushes up, standing to follow the older shifter.

“Sorry, can’t stand the boys at breakfast, actually, most of my time here has been spent with the girls, they seem far smarter and not as likely to be idiots. Or at least in better control of their animal instincts anyway,” the lynx comments as they leave the dining hall and head through the building to one of the areas he had not explored the night before. “This is where the offices are.”

As they continue walking, Oren motions to the first door on the left. “The first one belongs to Richmond; he doesn’t like to be formal when he doesn’t have to be, so we just call him by his first name. He teaches the sciences and runs the greenhouse, and sometimes he teaches computers when Merlin is away.”

Oren‘s hand sweeps to the second door. “That one belongs to Mr. Hart. He mostly tracks down the recently presented, though he does help with the control classes that Miss Ashley teaches and with the various weapons tutors.”

Pointing to the first door on the right side, the lynx continues, “That’s Miss Ashley’s office. She's in charge of teaching control and often works with the medical staff to ensure that the students don't injure themselves or each other. You’ll meet the folks from medical during control training most of them prefer their dining area near the infirmary rather than eating with the rest of us.”

Gesturing to the next door on the  right, Oren says “That's Merlin’s office. He teaches shifter history, computers, and helps students find careers once they graduate.”

They are nearing the end of the hall when the lynx stops and indicates the door on the left first. “That’s the staff room. Students aren’t supposed to go in there unless invited by one of the teachers or tutors. There is probably fifty or so tutors; some work with the students here, some work with those who recently graduated to make sure they have all the skills needed in their chosen careers, and some work with various universities across the country with those who tested out because they learned shifting with their families.”

Then he waves to the door in front of them. “This is Headmaster King’s office and where I leave you. I actually have an appointment with Merlin when he's done with breakfast.”

No sooner had the lynx commented then the tall bald man came striding down the hall towards them. 

“Oren, my office now,” Merlin declares as he opens the door to the office.

“Just so you know, he’s one of those sort, like the other boys,” Oren tells him, nodding towards Headmaster King’s door before turning and trotting down the hall to the other room. 

'One of those sort', he thinks. Meaning a pure blood who looks down on anyone who isn’t one. Whatever, he'll deal with it the same way he's always dealt with any uppity snobs before when he attempted his time in the military before that instructor nearly caught him shifting and he quit in order to return home, using the fact his mum had gone mental over his joining as his reasoning.

Lifting his hand, he raps the door twice and waiting to be invited in.

“Come, Mr. Unwin,” he hears from the other side of the door.

Opening the door, he slips in and glances about, quickly taking in the décor and layout. It's a nice office, there is a fireplace, two armchairs with a small table between them, and a large desk situated in front of the large stain glass window with two chairs in front of it. There are book shelves lining the wall opposite of the fireplace. The old man is sitting behind the desk, a pile of papers before him.

“Please, sit down,” Headmaster King states, hand indicating the chairs before his desk.

Keeping his back straight, he finishes stepping in, closing the door behind him before settling in a  chair. 

Several minutes pass as he waits for the older shifter to speak, refusing to break this silence. Something about the headmaster bothers him, though he could not say what exactly. 

“Mr. Unwin, you were discovered as a shifter by Harry Hart yesterday when you had one Dean Baker pinned to a wall with claws and cat eyes visible to the public. Can you tell me how you manifested them?” the older shifter inquires tilting his head upwards and staring at him.

He considers sneering in response, but instead he replies bluntly, “He got drunk and went after me sis, Daisy.”

“Half-sister, thirteen months old, daughter of Michelle Louise Potter Unwin Baker and Dean Baker, who according to these notes, she will also be a shifter," the headmaster reads aloud. “By law, you will not be charged with assault because you were protecting a shifter child. You could be fined for not reporting to the nearest Finding House however.” 

He tilts his head, doing a partial shrug of his shoulders in response. He has complete control of his ability to shift and didn’t feel the need to learn to control it by some stranger. 

Sighing in annoyance, Headmaster King continues. “Judging by your grades, you will not require tutoring in most subjects. Two terms of botany, zoology, and shifter history are all required. Shifting control is required by all until they have mastered the ability to change, you will finish the term even if you master it within the first few weeks. You may also choose up to six other subjects each term and receive tutoring in them. Unlike a normal school, terms begin when you enter the class and lasts sixteen weeks, at the end of each term you will be evaluated to see what progress you have made.” The older shifter’s voice is snide and a bit on the rude side, but he ignores that as well, choosing to focus on the words instead.

So, he' is trapped here for at least eight months. How great. Who will protect his mum and sis during that time? What about Dean and his goons? There will not be a source of income for his mum and sis as long as Dean is gone, so how will she keep the flat and keep what they need? Yeah,she receives survivor benefits for his dad, but that' is not a lot of money and barely covers the cost of the rent. 

“For the duration of your stay here, your family will receive a stipend to make up the potential loss of income from your work.” The way Headmaster King says it makes it easy for him to understand that he doesn’t approve of doing whatever it takes to survive. 

“Here is the list of subjects you may choose from,” the elder shifter states as he passes a packet of papers. “We also offer the ability to complete bachelor’s degrees while working on control,” the elder shifter states as he passes a packet of papers. “You have until eight pm to decide. I expect you back here at eight fifteen to schedule your studies. If you do not pick at least two for the private study time, I will pick for you.” 

He nods, accepting the papers but not saying anything in response, he is considering whether he should look at it now, or wait until he is dismissed. 

“All supplies will be provided by the school,” Headmaster King tells him before waving a hand towards the door.“You may go.”

He nods, standing and taking the papers with him. 

Heading to his room, setting all of the paperwork on his desk, he digs a note pad out of his stuff and sits down to read the paperwork. The next several hours are spent going over the choices and options until he makes his decision. He likes the idea of getting a degree in physiotherapy and another in athletic instruction. The only problem is he never actually finished his A-levels. Well then, he will take those classes first, maybe even test out if he can so that he can work on the degree of his choice. 

Stretching, he glances at his phone, startled to see that he missed lunch time and it is already nearing dinner time. How had he missed so much time going through the papers he is not sure, but then he was always good at getting lost in his work when he is focused on something. 

Frowning, he wonders whether he should take his notes with him to dinner or just fetch them from the room before he goes to see the headmaster. Nah, he will make a quick trip back to his room and grab the notes when he is done eating. 

Heading to the dining area, he takes a seat near the three girls who were friendly during the previous meals. He is mostly quiet during the meal, preferring to listen instead. It gives him a chance to get a feel for the people at the table. 

Headmaster King is the type he would have robbed prior to being caught, enjoying taking him for everything he is worth. Merlin and Mr. Hart seem to be fast friends, neither speak to the headmaster unless the older shifter speaks to them first, nor do they speak to anyone else at the table. Miss Ashley and Richmond spend an equal amount of time speaking with each other and the already graduated students, along with another man named James who is sitting with them. The group of boys that tried to make a pecking order at last night’s dinner are all speaking to each other in low voices. He could allow his cat’s hearing to the surface, but choose not to since he can tell by their expressions that it's nothing he really needs or wants to know. Beside him, he listens to the four girls talking, discussing their classes and assignments. 

“Hey Eggsy, have you decided what you want to pursue for classes?” Roxy inquires towards the end of dinner, after dessert has been brought out. 

“Yeah,” he replies absently. “‘ave a meetin’ with the ‘eadmaster after dinner to discuss them and form a schedule.”

She smiles at him, bidding him, “Good luck. I hope you can get the classes you want.”

Amelia pipes in with, “Do you know what sort of career you may want to pursue after graduation?”

“Physiotherapy and athletic instructor, preferably one who teaches gymnastics or acrobatics,” he answers, leaning forward a bit so he can look over at her as he does so.

It is Gazelle who comments next. “That is a field without nearly enough people who understand shifters.” 

His eyes narrow as he tries to understand that remark; he has a feeling he's missing something.

“I’m a double amputee,” she explains, apparently seeing his confusion over the comment. "It was difficult coming up with prosthetics that I could use in both my human and black panther form. 

“Ah,” he murmurs before querying. “Did they figure it out?”

Gazelle nods in response, a small smile playing across her lips, “They did. It took them a few tries, but they came up with a pair that stay with me through the change and allow me to move easily in either form.”

He smiles at her. “That’s nifty." Tilting his head he inquires, “So what are you ladies planning on doing in the future?”

Gazelle answers first. “I am going to stay here and work with Richmond in the greenhouse. Eventually I wish to open my own hothouse. I also want to help other shifters with disabilities get the help they may need.” 

“I’m going into politics,” Roxy replies. “Maybe do scouting as well.”

Shyly, Amelia comments, “I want become a computer programmer and security designer.”

Conversation drifts into why they each of the goals that they have before the staff removes the dinner plate and the grandfather clock chimes that it is eight pm.

“Well I gotta grab me notes so I can go speak with the ‘eadmaster,” he tells the ladies as he stands up. 

All three nod at him, bidding him farewell before turning back to their conversation.

Quickly heading to his bedroom, he collects the papers on the available classes and the notes he made before heading to the headmaster’s office. He actually gets there before the headmaster and is reviewing his notes when the older shifter comes up, giving him a startled expression as if he did not expect him to be on time.

“Good evening Eggsy,” the headmaster greets him as he opens the door. 

“‘Eadmaster,” he replies with a nod.

“Well come in and we will discuss your choices and options,” the older man directs as he steps into the office, holding the door.

He closes the door behind him, moving to sit in the seat. Once seated, he waits for the older shifter to speak, holding the papers with the information and his notes in his hands.

Sighing, the headmaster pinches the bridge of his nose for a moment before straightening. “Have you made a decision or do we need to discuss the options?” He can hear the disdain in the older man’s voice. 

“I ‘ave. I wish to complete a dual bachelor’s degree in physiotherapy and athletic instruction, which requires I my A-levels first. The three I need to take are math, English, and biology science. My two electives are physical education and human biology," he answers, setting the two collections of papers down on the table. “According to the paperwork, I can do both at the same time, though I would ‘ave to do the base classes first.” 

The older shifter stares at him, shock filling his scent, eyes narrowing in disbelief. 

“You realize how much work that will be? Perhaps a lesser work load would be better for you,” the headmaster begins.

“No, those are my goals,” he quickly interrupts, voice firm as he continues. “If Dean is really going to be gone, then me sis and mum are safe and I can complete the education I wanted to get back then but couldn’t ‘cause she wouldn’t ‘ave been safe.”

Slowly the headmaster nods. “You’re sure this is the course of action then? Determined? Your classes in shifting will be exhausting as you learn to control your shape.”

He has to bite back a smirk. Control was something he'd picked up quickly; had had to because of where he lived at the time. Of course, this bloke doesn’t know that and he's not going to tell him. “I’m sure,” he answers quickly.

“In that case, I am going to assign you to Percival Jones for your primary private instructor.” Headmaster King states, turning to his laptop and typing something. A moment later, he reaches down beside his desk and then offers a pile of papers. “You will need these books at the minimum; they can be borrowed from the library. Mr. Jones will tell you what other materials you will need. Do you have any questions?”

He looks over the list, nodding and standing. “No sir,” he responds.

“Good, dismissed,” the headmaster tells him, “Report to the library after lunch tomorrow for your introduction to Mr. Jones. He will do your evaluations to determine whether you can continue with this course or must choose a different one.”

Narrowing his eyes, he leaves without saying anything else. 

People like that piss him off in the worse possible way. Just because he never completed his A-levels, ended up leaving the military for his protection and his mum’s peace of mind, didn't come from a well-off family, or anything else that he’s had people look down on him for, doesn't mean he couldn't succeed in the right situation. Yeah, he dropped out, but he's still athletic and able to evade people looking to cause harm. He dropped out, but he still reads to his sister ‘cause he wants her to have a better chance. He dropped out, but he protects his mum whenever he can by drawing that arsehole into attacking him instead. 

Shaking his head, he draws his mind out of that train of thought before he gets pissed off. Maybe he'll use that gym for a bit before lights out. No, get the books, look them over, see how much he may need to learn versus already knows. That’s a better plan. Evaluations, not a big deal; he’ll probably surprise the bloke who has to do his. 

Heading to the library, he is happy when he sees the desk to the side with a person behind it. 

Smiling charmingly, he heads to the desk, eyes quickly sweeping over the young person behind it. Xe is not-quite-male, according to the clothing and posture, so best to ask. His sense of smell tells him xe is in a pleasant mood, if a bit bored, and some sort of canine, maybe wolf?

“Hi,” he greets the librarian.

Looking up, xe inquires, “Can I help you?”

“Eggsy,” he introduces himself, offering a hand and a warm smile.  “The ‘eadmaster gave me a list of books to get, if ya could point me towards them, I’d appreciate it.”

After a moment of hesitation, “Jessica,” the shifter replies, accepting the handshake and smiling a bit shyly back. “Let’s see the list. They'll probably be in the degree plan room.”

“Always Jessica, or sometimes Jess?” he queries as he hands it over. 

Startled, Jessica’s eyes widen in shock, her scent fills with confusion. “How? Most the shifters here never caught on or act like there is something wrong with me for it.” 

Still smiling, he replies, “‘ad a friend like that back home. Most days were Chris, but some were Charity or Char.”

Pleasure fills xir scent, replacing the confusion, and he tones his sense of smell back again to a more human level. 

“Justin,” xe comments. “That's my birth name, and some days I still feel like a Justin, but other days...” xe shrugs. “Sometimes it's hard to get by, listening to the purebloods. A lot of the younger ones don’t like me cause I am a half-breed and they figure my gender identity is a side effect of being a that.” Jessica glances over the list as xe speaks. Looking back, up xe comments, “Right this way. I was right: they're all in degree plan room.” 

As they walk through the large room, they chatter about their experiences with the other shifters. He is careful about what he says, not wanting to give away his secret as he does so, but they do agree that Charlie and his group are arses. Xir experiences with other shifters has not always been the easiest, and xe is sure the only reason xe has this job is because xir father had attended the school and was on friendly terms with the headmaster.

When they reach the room at the back of the library, xe opens it with a keycard before clicking on a light and entering. 

“Let’s get the books for your A-levels first, then go from there,” Jessica comments as xe moves towards one of the shelves.

“Quick question,” he states, waiting for xir attention to switch to him for a moment. 

“Yes Eggsy?” xe responds, looking over xir shoulder.

“Do you have a pronoun preference?” he inquires curiously, might as well start working them into his memory if it is not one he knows.

Jessica just about beams at him. “You’re the first person to ask me that,” xe softly states. “I prefer she, her, hers, herself. No matter which name I am using.”

He bobs his head in understand. “Got it,” he replies, still smiling.

Turning back to the stacks, she grabs a book, then another, and a third. 

Chuckling softly, he plucks them out of her arms, commenting, “Makes it  bit easier yeah?”

Smiling back, she nods before moving towards the next set of books. A few minutes later, they are all holding all of the books on the list, plus a few others she suggested. Back at her desk, she scans in the books and assigns them to him, before bagging them for easier carrying. 

“Just bring them back when you are done with them,” she tells him with a smile. 

“Thanks,” he responds. “You ever eat with the students?”

She shakes her head. “No, even when I was a student, I preferred eating in the kitchen cause the staff were nice to me. The only meals I took in the hall was dinner, and that’s because it’s required.”

He nods. “Makes sense, well I’m off, gonna see ‘ow much of this I already know.”

“Good luck!” she bids him with a smile. “I’m the night shift during the weekdays if you ever want to talk.” 

His lips quirk in a smile as he nods again. “Cool. Later, Jessica.”

Taking the bag, he heads back to his room, dropping the books beside his bed. Stepping over to his desk, he grabs his paper and pens before sprawling on his bed. Reaching down, he scoops up the first book from the list and opens it up, first going over the table of contents before skimming the sections he is unsure about. On anything he is not sure of after skimming, he makes notes on what he needs to read. He repeats that process with each of the books. It is rather late, or really early in the morning,  depending on how he looks at it, when he finally gets done. 

Stretching, he puts all of the books aside, grabs his pajama bottoms and bathing kit before heading into the bathroom to take a relaxing shower. He enjoys the feel of the water on his skin before he washes up and gets out. After setting an alarm on his phone, he turns out the lights and goes to bed. 

In the morning, he wakes up just before the alarm goes off. Getting up, he  takes a few minutes to go over his notes before dressing and heading to breakfast. 

Realizing he forgot to ask if he was supposed to attend morning classes, he glances at Roxy, querying, “Do you know if I should go to the mornin’ classes or not? I have evaluations after lunch.”

She gives a shake of her head, “No, you start them after the evaluations so they have an idea how well you will do and what you already know.” 

He nods, understanding the idea, even if he might not agree totally since he feels they have expectations already that he will have to deal with. 

“Do you know who is evaluating you?” Amelia inquires, leaning forward a little bit so she can look past the two shifters between them.

“Percival Jones,” he answers as he makes a plate, “After lunch in the library.”

“That’s my uncle,” Roxy comments. “My mum’s brother.”

“The nice sort of uncle or the annoying kind?” he inquires after taking a few bites.

She smiles at him replying, “Nice sort,” she takes another bite before continuing, “He’s the easy going sort, prefers to take people as they are, not by their blood status. You’ll probably like him. He clashes with the headmaster sometimes over new students, generally mixed breeds since our charming headmaster is like those idiots at times,” she motions towards the group of arses.

“Good to know,” he remarks happily. 

The rest of breakfast ends up being him listening to stories about the different instructors and teachers, giving him a chance to get to know a bit about them before he actually has to deal with them with any regularity. 

After breakfast, he returns to his room to go over some of the materials he was unsure about the night before. Some of the stuff he actually does know, he realizes as he reviews it a second time, this time with a little more detail. Well that’s useful. In the long run, his list ends up being a lot shorter on the topics he does not know. 

Lunch is a quick affair for him. Half hour before lunch ends, he takes the time to do some stretches, getting his body ready for whatever sort of physical activity might be part of this, because he is sure there will be something before heading to the library. He fetches only his notebook and pen, so he can take any notes he might need. In the library, he glances around, noticing that Amelia and Nikki are talking with two older shifters, and he can see Charlie, Rufus, and Digby talking to each other at a table. 

“Eggsy?” a dark brown haired man with chocolate colored eyes queries, coming up from behind him. 

Turning, his eyes quickly sweep over the older man, taking in the fact he is not the type to attack unless threatened, and Roxy was right about his having an easygoing nature.  His scent is the same type of animal as Roxy, so a gyrfalcon. “Yeah?” he answers with a small smile, straighten his back and standing a little taller. 

“I am Percival Jones. The Headmaster has assigned you to me for evaluations and tutoring,” the older shifter tells him with a smile. “Would you like to do the physical or the educational part first?”

Cocking his head to the side, he considers it before answering, “Educational. Best get it out of the way.”

Still smiling, his instructor replies. “Right then. Well, to start with, call me Percy. We have one of the rooms over here for our use and I have already set up the written parts of the exam, and readied the oral parts.” 

He nods, but does not say anything as he follows Percy through the library to one of the rooms to the side. Once inside, the older shifter motions to one of the chairs while he sits in the other, sorting through the paperwork before handing him a packet of papers and a pen. 

“Part one, the written exams,” Percy remarks. “You have three hours to complete them.”

Again he nods, his focus zooming into the papers before him. A lot of it seems to be simple stuff, but as he goes, he realizes it gets more and more complex and he is thankful he took the time to brush up last night and this morning. Most of it he knows, though not all, and the questions he cannot immediately answer he skips, moving on to ones he can. Once he has completed all the ones he knows, he goes back and sets to trying to answer the ones he does not know. 

He has just about done with the last page when Percy calls, “Time. Pass those here please.”

“‘ere you go,” he replies, setting his pen down and handing them over. 

“Now then, the oral exam, I will ask questions you will answer them to the best of your ability. You may ask to pass if you would like to skip one and return to it at the end if we have time. You have two hours to complete this portion,” the gyrfalcon tells him. 

He nods in understanding, then waits for the questioning to begin. Like the written test, most of these are questions he can easily answer. When his mouth starts to dry out, Percy offers him a bottle of water to drink before they continue. There are only three questions he skips. The first is ‘Is it safe for a shifter to live within the human community without training?’, the second is ‘Is it important to know bloodlines?’, and the third is ‘Is it right that all shifters are required to leave their homes to go to one of the academies?’. 

“Is there a reason you skipped those particular question?” Percy asks when they've finished. He had intentionally run the clock out rather than answer them.

Titling his head slightly, he just shrugs, not answering because he neither knows or trusts this shifter. 

“I’m not your enemy Eggsy, you can trust me to keep my mouth shut,” the older shifter tells him after several minutes of stony silence. 

Again he just shrugs his shoulders, not saying anything. 

“Well that is it for today’s portion, tomorrow after breakfast, report to the training hall downstairs for physical portion of the exams. They should take no longer than three hours,” Percy tells him just before the bell for dinner rings.

“See you tomorrow,” he replies with a smile, standing and stretching since he hates being still for so long and his ribs are still smarting a bit from the last time he got into with Dean.

“Part of the physical portion of the exams is a medical physical by the head of medical to ensure you are healthy enough for them,” Percy tells him, something in the gyrfalcons eyes making him wary. 

Quickly, he heads to the dining room, joining the small group he has found easy acceptance with. 

Over dinner he listens to the others while considering the questions on the tests he has taken so far. A lot of them seemed to be more common sense types, but some were more detailed. They covered a wide variety of topics he had finished in school plus extras based on the course of study he has chosen. Do they keep examples of all the tests for when they get new students or have a program that designs the tests based off what he already knows? He'll have to ask about that.

"Which part of the test did you do today Eggsy?" Roxy inquires, drawing him out of his mind.

Glancing at her, he answers, "The written and oral questions." Looking down at his plate, he continues, "Doing the physical in the morning after breakfast."

"Good luck Eggsy," Roxy tells him with a smile. "I hope you do great. The physical can be really tiring."

Snorting, Gazelle comments, "Time consuming is more like it."

"I didn't like it," Amelia remarks, "They kept having me attempt to shift and it was exhausting."

Snorting, Charlie interrupts with, "He'll probably have problems with the shifting,  he's a mutt after all."

He ignores the fox, seeing no reason to respond to the idiot.

"You'll be fine Eggsy," Roxy assures him, "I'm sure of it."

"Thanks," he replies, smiling at each of the girls.

The rest of dinner goes relatively peacefully, he ignores the group of boys who see determined to draw him into a pissing match. That’s something he could probably win without even trying because he is quite sure they have nothing on the bullies who work for Dean. 

After dinner he heads downstairs to the gym area, looking over everything before deciding to play on the gymnastics toys. He is sure that the coaches wouldn’t appreciate them being called toys but whatever, that is what they are. He takes his time as he stretches out, wanting to do this properly if he is going to do it. Once he is sure he is ready, he starts off with basics, not bothering to correct his form in he spots he messes up as he works his way through his old routine. It has been years since he could just do this, but it is still something his body remembers. By the time he starts to get tired and is ready, he has gathered a small collection of people watching him, all of them tutors he is guessing since none of them are students.

Among them is his tutor who is watching him with a speculative expression in his eyes.

Taking a flashy bow, he starts with his warm down. Otherwise he will pay tomorrow for that much activity.

“Well Eggsy, I wasn’t expecting to see you down here tonight.” Percy comments as the other disperse.

“Roxy said it’d be fine, so I figured I’d see what I remember,” he replies with a slight shrug as he continues working.

“I can see why you have picked the major you picked,” the falcon remarks. “If you can explain how you do that to others, then it will be perfect for you. Are you planning on specializing in gymnastics?”

“Nah, I like gymnastics and acrobatics equally, both are useful.” He answers with a smiling, as he finishes up his last stretch.

Nodding in understanding, Percy quizzes him about his knowledge of both and mixing it in with questions about when and where he learned, plus how he still uses it.  The older shifter seems to find some of his stories amusing, and others saddening but he has a hard time determining how each is going to affect him because the falcon keeps responding differently than most people have in the past.

Close to eleven pm, Percy comments, “It’s getting rather late, I am off to bed, see you in the morning Eggsy.”

“Night Percy,” he replies as he gets up and heads back to his room for a nice, long, hot shower.

The water feels wonderful as it pounds on his muscles, loosening them further. Causing him to drowse in the shower, eyes drooping shut as he baths.

“Bed time,” he mutters as he gets out and quickly dries off.

The only clothes he pulls on is a pair of pants before collapsing in bed and falling deep asleep.

In the morning he wakes just minutes before the alarm, and he stretches as he comes to.

He spends a few minutes stretching before getting dressed and heading to the dining room.

Settling next to Oren, he quickly snags some food, all things high in protein and carbs in order to keep his energy up for the following physical tests. When the girls sit down, all four of them greet him then continue their conversations. Roxy and Gazelle draw him into their conversation about choices in music, a talk he find amusing because he is willing to listen to anything, though things with beat are normally his preference. He likes to dance, and dancing is easier with a beat.

When he is done with breakfast, he heads down to the training area, meeting Percy near the stairwell door.

“I thought you might use the stairs instead of the elevator,” the older shifter remarks with a smile. “First stop is medical to get your health evaluated. Then I get to put you through your pace, and after that I get to see how much you can shift plus how good your control is.”

“Alright,” he responds with a small shrug of his shoulders. It is going to be a long morning.

The two of them walk through the area, to the far side large room.

When they get there, Percy introduces him to the head of medical, “Eggsy, this is Doctor Lida Bruin. She is the primary doctor here at the academy. I am going to step outside the door, when you are done with this portion, come out and we will begin the next part of the physical tests.”

Smiling at him, Doctor Bruin states, “Hello Eggsy, I already have you past medical records, they arrived yesterday.”

“A’right,” he replies.

“Let’s start by getting your vitals, if you will just come with me in the exam room, we can get started on that,” she suggests, motioning to a door off to the side.

Moving into the room, he sits on the chair, rather than the table and waits for instructions.

The next several minutes are spent with her checking his vitals and drawing blood before asking a series of questions about the different things she had read in his file. When they are done with that, she leads him to another small room where there is a series of different exercise equipment that has a set of monitors on them. Over the next hour, he is put through his paces, while she continues to check them and make notes.

“You are in surprisingly good shape,” she comments, “From what is in your records I was not expecting these good of results.”

He shrugs, thinking at he had to stay in good shape to dodge some of Dean’s goons and for some of his not quite legal jobs.

“We are done with this part, you can return to Percy to complete your testing.” She tells him finally, “Good luck Eggsy, if you ever need something, I am always around whether it is for a talk or for other reasons.”

He nods, stretching and leaving the medical area.

As promised, Percy is waiting for him just outside the door, and smile in his direction when he emerges from there. “Now then, time to do the last part, since I do not have everything memorized for your particular choices needed skills, I brought the list. I am to grade how well you know each item on it. Once you are done with that, you are supposed to show how well you can shift and how far you can shift at this point.”

“A’right,” he responds, wondering how much shifting he should do, he can fully shift after all, and that’s probably not a good idea right now.

They head over to the gymnastics and acrobatics area where he had practiced for a bit the previous night.

“Ready Eggsy?” Percy inquires with a mischievous grin.

The grin makes him nervous, but he nods in answer, waiting for instructions.

“Right then, let’s start with the basics, do as many push up as you can in the next minute. Start when I say go,” the older shifter tells him.

Trying not to roll his eyes, he gets into position and waits for the signal.

“Go,” Percy tells him, clicking a stopwatch on.

With practice easy, he begins, setting a smooth pace born of having to do them way too much during his brief stint in the military. He doesn’t bother counting since he knows that Percy is counting and when the older shifter calls for him to stop, he finishes the one he is on and rests in place.

“That was excellent Eggsy, sixty-three push ups. Next up is sit ups. We will be using that incline bench over there rather than having someone hold your feet.” The falcon comments, motioning to the sit up bar on the edge of the area.

“A’right,” he answers, easily standing up and walking over to it. He understands why they are doing this considering his degree choice but it is still a bit boring. Though he still wonders what that mischievous smile was about.

“Go.” Percy states as soon as he is in place to begin.

Like the push ups, sit ups are something he has done a lot of and he falls into an easy rhythm for them.

“Time,” his tutor calls out, “Good going, thirty-nine sit ups. Next up are laps around the room for ten minutes to see how long you can go distance wise.”

He nods, stretching a bit and asking, “Start at a particular spot?”

“On the line there,” Percy answers, motioning to a long white line on the floor.

Again he is barely in place before the falcon is calling for him to begin.

Pace himself or go all out? He wonders as he starts at an easy trot. Maybe a combination of the two? Go a bit faster than a low pace, but still keep his strides and speed even. He can use a partial shift in order to increase his speed, but without giving away the fact he has full control of his lynx. Well then, that is what he will do. Opening up his stride, lengthening it as far as it goes, he runs with ease, not maxing himself out but still going at a decent pace. He can probably run faster than any of those idiots who keep trying to challenge him.

While he runs he continues to consider what he is going to do for his shifting tests, because there is no way he is going to fully shift in front of this group. They do not need to know that he has been hiding it. So maybe just patchy fur shifting? He hasn’t done that since he first figured out what was happening and did a lot of research at the library on shapeshifting before asking his friend Jamal about it. Thankfully, his friend had never turned him in even though he should have.

By the time Percy has called time, he has found his limbs to be getting tired and starting to burn with fatigue.

“Would you like some water and a snack bar?” a young woman he hasn’t met yet inquires as he comes to stop next to his tutor.

“Please,” he replies, accepting both from her. In less than a minute he downs the water in almost drink.

“Excellent Eggsy, you completed two and a fourth miles. That is great time, now you get a five minute break to use the loo and get something to drink.” Percy comments, then motions to the young woman, “This is Ashlyn, she is one of the assistants who works down here maintaining equipment and helping with training as needed.”

“Nice to meet you,” he responds, smiling at the woman. His sense of smell tells him that she is some sort of serpent, though he cannot get an exact match in his head.

“You too, I’ll go get a few more waters from the fridge over there,” she motions to the small room in the corner that he hadn’t looked through. “It’s where we keep snacks and water for those training, we like to keep our students as healthy as we can.”

“Probably good,” he replies, walking with her over to the corner room even though he probably doesn’t have a lot of time left.

When they get there, she opens the fridge and passes him another water, while grabbing one for herself. He reaches past her to grab a third water before turning to head towards where Percy is waiting for him.

“Ready,” he tells the older shifter as he stops next to him.

“Good, now on the mats we are going to go through your understanding of the different stunts. When we get to the ones that require multiple people, Ashlyn will be your partner. Will you have a problem with that?” Percy inquires.

“Nah, women can be just as good, if not better than a bloke.” He replies with a smile.

“Good, now then,” Percy remarks opening the notebook he has in his hands, “We are going to start with individual simple stunts, after that is tumbling stunts, followed by static balance stunts, last will be the stunts on the equipment.”

“A’right,” he grins, “I can do that.”

The rest of the time for his evaluations is spent going through all of the things he knows for gymnastics and acrobatics, plus occasionally being a bit of a smart arse and adding in dancing that matches whatever he is working on. After he has finished the evaluation for his knowledge in this field, he does the routine that he had been training to use as an Olympic possibility since he has time. As he lands the last motion, he is only slightly surprised to see they have gathered again.

“Well Eggsy, that was very interesting. Ashley is ready for you, so on to the testing of your shifting abilities so far.” Percy tells him as they leave the mats.

“A’right,” he replies, having already decided what to do while on his run. “Is this considered part of my evaluation?”

“Yes and no,” the falcon answers. “You’ve passed all of the evaluation requirements for doing a dual major, or maybe I should say triple major since you will be completing your A-levels and your dual major. It is going to be difficult, time consuming, and probably harder than you expect. Do you still want to do it?”

“Yes,” he answers firmly, determined to see this through. Being a shifter should be useful for something. Now it’s time to fake some tests. 


	4. Fur and Rosettes

Harry's POV  
He had asked Merlin to steam all of Eggsy’s tests and exams to his office computer, drawn to the young shifter with the cocky smile and outrageous style. While the younger man had worked on the written exams, he had learned everything he could about Eggsy from the day his father had died until the moment he had walked back into the boy’s life. What he found was shocking, some of it good and some of it bad, all of it a bit more than he expected.

Eggsy’s life has definitely not been the easiest, and when the boy applies himself, he excels. Yet he seems to rarely apply himself. At least not for very long. Hopefully that trend does not continue here. Though it is peculiar, his time going through boot camp only  ended when another shifter was transferred to the building he reported to and he seems to have avoided contact with all other shifters except his childhood friend Jamal, the young black man he had heard offer to walk Michelle home when he had first discovered Eggsy.

Did Jamal know his friends secret? If so that could put the Eurasian lynx in trouble with the law. Not just the human laws, but the shifter laws. There is a reason for the laws, and while he does not always agree with them, he still understands this particular set. Hmmm. Well, if Jamal did know, he is not going to be the one to report the lynx, felines have to stick together and all that.

Though, he clicks on the screen and glances over just as Eggsy finishes up his physical education knowledge testing, he wonders exactly how much the boy is hiding.

The break between the physical understanding and his shifting control are relatively short, then he spots Ashley approaching, her easy looping grace the only clue to the fact she is a deer in her other form, one of the rare non-predators.

Clicking on the sound to the instructor’s mic, he listens as she explains to Eggsy  how they are going to do this.

“A’right,” the shifter answers, and something in Eggsy’s voice makes him pay close attention to what follows.

Taking off his jacket so he is left in only a tight tee-shirt, the new shifter’s eyes narrow and he focuses, but it almost seems as if he is trying too hard. A moment later, Eggsy’s hands have started to change, and he watches on the camera as his fingers start to shorten slightly, stationary nails being replaced by retractable silvery claws. The palms thickening and hardening, dark colored pads replacing the smooth skin. Short fur bristles up his arms, silvery gold and somehow familiar. It is when he sees the spots that start to form before the boy breaks his concentration that he nearly stops breathing.

It’s not possible, he thinks as he stares hard at the screen. No. It can’t be. There is no way that a mixed breed would end up being one of the rarest types of shifters. He must have mis-seen things.

“That’s great, Eggsy!” Ashley praises him warmly before directing, “Really, you got a lot further than I expected. Now I want you to try again, focusing only on the surface, such as your skin and hair, rather than trying a full shift. Lets see if we can figure out what you will become.”

“’kay,” the new shifter responds, rolling his shoulders a bit and focusing again.

The first few moments pass in absolute silence, as if no one wants to break Eggsy’s concentration.

The entire time he sits in his office, watching with baited breath as the younger man starts to change. Again it starts at his hands, the soft ripple of fur, shimmering silvery gold with gray and black rosettes though those are not as prominent yet. By the time it reaches his face, he can do nothing but stare, because there the rosettes are visible, they can be seen, and they are as familiar as his own voice. They should be, after all, he sees them every time he shifts.

An excited noise from one of the tutors breaks Eggsy’s concentration and he returns to normal, skin fading back to that of a human.

Turning the screen and sound off, he sits back in his chair and stares.

What is he going to do about this? It is completely unexpected, he never thought to find the person with matched markings.

His mate, his mind reminds him smugly, call him what he is.

No, that boy isn’t his mate yet, but the potential,  _ damn, _ the potential alone is enough to be staggering.

He needs a drink and a second opinion.

Lifting the phone next to the computer screen, he presses and holds the autodial for Merlin.

“Hello?” the computer genius answers distractedly.

“Get your bald arse in my office,” he replies instead of greeting his friend, mind still reeling over what he has learned. It’s not possible. He must be mistaken. He’ll have Merlin look at Eggsy’s markings, and then his, he knows the Scot is great at spotting the smallest of differences.

“Alright,” the gruff shifter responds before hanging up on him.

He is still sitting at his desk in shock when the tall Scot comes striding through his door like he owns it after only lightly wrapping his knuckles against it.

“What ha’ ya lookin’ like that for?” his friend inquires as he settles into the arm chair near the fireplace, rather than one of the student chairs in front of his desk.

Getting up, he feels like he staggers to the other arm chair before he looks at his friend and says a single word, “Eggsy.”

Frowning, the bigger shifter repeats in a questioning tone, “Eggsy?”

Nodding, he waves towards the computer screen without saying anything else.

Grumbling, his friend gets to his feet, clicking it on and rewinding the video since it is always recorded as it plays.

“Oh,” the Scot remarks, his brogue filling that word with a wealth of meaning.

“Exactly,” he answers, coming out of his shock slowly. “I’m not wrong?”

“Ya’re not wrong,” Merlin agrees, “I’ve seen ya shift of’en enough to know yar spots and they match.”

“Fuck,” he groans, rubbing a hand across his face.

Gruffly, his friend mutters, “It coulda been worse.”

Rolling his eyes, he inquires, “Enlighten me?”

“Well, tha’ boy is a sharp one, far sharper than most purebloods. He’s determined, he’s young enough to be creative and ol’ enough to not be jail bait. He’s athletic and in excellent shape.” Merlin answers with a smirk, “I can keep goin’?”

“No,” he shakes his head, motioning to where he keeps his scotch, “pour us drinks please, I think this calls for a drink as I try to figure out what the fuck I am going to do.”

Chuckling, his friend moves to do so, not saying anything but shaking his head instead. Once they have both downed the first and are working on the second, his friend suggests, “Get to know ‘im, ya’r known for doing random things, so do that.”

“I don’t think it is going to be that simple, Merlin,” he replies as he considers that advice. “Though I will be making sure Dean never leaves his cell.” There is cold rage in his voice when he speaks. Eggsy is his, and there is no way such a nuisance will be getting anywhere near him again. As for his new in-laws, well he can figure out something for Michelle and Daisy. Daisy smells like a shifter, she’ll be able to change when she is older, so she automatically is qualified for the support stipend provided for all shifter children. He’ll make sure that that paperwork is filled out as soon as possible.

“Probably not, have ya see’ that boys course load?” the Scot inquires with a tilt of his head. “He’s plannin’ to finish his A-levels and a dual bachelor’s degree at one time.”

Blinking, he comments, “I’m surprised King approved it.”

“He didn’ want ta, but Eggsy’s scores were high enough he couldn’ refuse.” Merlin tells him with a firm nod. “He is the third highest scoring student in the last ten years after Roxy and Gazelle.”

“Really?” the two girls had set records with their scores, though most had been more surprised out of Gazelle then Roxy. After all, Roxy grew up in a shifter household and clear goals in mind. Gazelle’s history is not as clear. Though making her prostheses that could be used in both forms had been a challenge for the technicians and medical staff.

“Really. He is incredibly smart, far smarter than I expected considerin’ his history and files.”

Thoughtfully, he stares at his glass, thinking about what to do with that information. Perhaps he could offer assistance if he needs it? A sounding board or friend maybe? Start slow, see what happens.

He is still considering his options when Merlin fills their cups for a third time, sitting back and watching him through knowing eyes.

“Well then, I best see if we have anything in common interest wise based on speaking with him. When does he start his classes?” he remarks, coming to a decision. Snow leopards like himself are rare, so finding his mate, particularly in such a way is unexpected but he is not going to pass on the chance to build something with him. Perhaps it will  only be friendship, but he has a feeling it will be something more.

“He starts Monday mornin’, I think Percy is tryin’ to come up with a way for him to have a little free time so he doesn’ burn out.” His friend tells him with a shrug, “I don’t think burn out is what he has to worry about.”

“I did notice he seems to push himself, no matter what extreme he is working on,” he replies with wiry smile.

“Ya,” the Scot nods, “Planning somethin’ then?”

“Yes,” he answers mischievously, his feline nature makes him want to preen and plot.

“Good, I had some work to be doin’,” his friend replies, getting to his feet and setting the glass aside.

“It won’t be immediately,” he states, “Plans like this take time. I also think he needs to adapt to the school, but I will be planning.”

“Good,” is the only response he gets before his friend leaves without another word.

Setting his glass aside, he smiles, oh yes, it is time to start plotting. He might be a wild card, but he is still an interesting wild card, the sort who doesn’t like to go in unprepared or do something rash. Just blurting out that they are mates and the younger man should let him court him is definitely rash and not at all what he is going to do. Instead, he will come up with a plan, become friends first. Then see where things go from there.

First though, time to take care of the new family members.

Family members, oh god, he is going to have to tell his family that he has discovered his mate. That is not a conversation he is looking forward to. Particularly when he tells them that he will be courting him slowly, not rushing into anything since his mate is half his age. Then there is the factor his mate is not a pureblood, he is sure that is going to cause some hassle. A large portion of his family are pureblood elitists.

Still, it is something he needs to consider. Best start making a list and notes. It would be a bad thing to miss a detail because he was being foolish. For now he will just treat this like a job. Of course it is probably one of the most important jobs of his life. After he turned thirty-five he stopped expecting to ever find his mate, so he was going to have to rethink everything he had decided about his future and see how having a mate was going to fit into that.

Rubbing a hand over his face, he shakes his head, focus. He needs to focus. This is too important not to focus. 

Grabbing a pad of paper and a pen, lets get this started.


	5. Talking with Oren

Eggsy’s POV   
When he gets back to his room, he is exhausted, barely managing to get his shoes off before he collapsed in bed to sleep. He doesn’t actually make it through the entire day and into the night, instead waking up after only a few hours of sleep, and stretching for a few minutes before undressing to head in the shower. Might as well relax in the water. While the water warms, he brushes his teeth and reviews his rather long morning. He probably should have went to lunch, rather than heading straight to his room, but apparently it takes way more energy and control to slowly make it seem like he is trying to shift, than it does just to shift.

That’s alright, he is quite sure that he was able to make them think he doesn’t know what he is doing. That was his goal. Now, well, he has always been a fast learner, as long as he shows periods with steady growth and random spurts, like when he was first learning, he should be fine.

Before he climbs in, he checks the time on his phone, only a little startled to see he slept most the afternoon away. There is just over an hour until dinner time. Plenty of time for a relaxing shower followed by visiting Percy to see what his schedule is going to  be like.

By the time he finally gets out of the shower, half hour has passed and it is getting close to dinner time. Despite that, he heads to the library since that is where Percy said he spends most of his time, looking to see if he can spot the older shifter. When he does, he quickly walks over, a smile curving his lips.

“I’s surprised to see you awake, Eggsy,” his tutor tells him with a smile. “Most trainees who manage as much shifting and that sort of exams ends up sleeping for twelve to sixteen hours, not four or five.”

He shrugs, answering, “I don’t need a lot of sleep. Came to see if you know me schedule yet.”

Motioning to the seat across from him, Percy comments, “I was just working on that actually. Between the required classes and your selection, there is going to be a lot crammed into a tight fit. This works that you are here however, because I can ask you a few questions on preference.”

Tucking his hands together on the table, he nods once, waiting for the questions to begin.

“First, would you rather have tests scattered throughout the week or only one day dedicated to testing?” the older shifter inquires, lifting a pen and waiting for his answer.

“One day a week,” he replies without having to think it through too much.

Nodding, his tutor writes that down, then looks up asking, “Block scheduling, daily reviews, or as needed?”

“As needed,” another easy one to answer.

“Assignments at the beginning of each week or as you finish the one before it?” is the next question asked.

“Beginning of the week,” he answers after considering it for a few minutes. That one is sort of tough, because he likes knowing what he has to do, but doesn’t like feeling overloaded. Though, if he gets all of the weeks work done, he can have some extra study time or some time for himself. So might as well do it all at once.

“I believe that is it for now,” Percy starts to state before stopping himself and flipping through the pile of papers he has. “Wait, would you like to test out on the classes for you’re a-levels and degrees that you can?”

“Yes,” he nods once hard, “That’d be great, make life a bit easier.”

“Well then, Monday morning I will give you a review packet, and Friday we will do the tests. The following Monday we will start your classes,” Percy tells him with a smile, “You will still be expected to take part in the morning classes starting Monday.”

“Alright,” he answers with another nod.

“In that case, you’re free to go Eggsy,” Percy comments before continuing, “Its Thursday, so you can call your family if you want or explore the grounds a bit more. Only on Saturday are students allowed to leave the grounds, and all students must be back on campus before dinner unless previous arrangements are made, then it is lights out.”

“That’s,” he looks for the right word, “Good to know.”

“Yes it is,”  the older shifter replies, “See you later.”

“Laters,” he responds, heading towards the dining room since it is just a few minutes before dinner. Actually, he is pretty sure dinner will have been started by time he gets there, and it turns out he was right.

Sitting at the table, he chats with the girls for a bit, both are just as shocked that he is up as Percy had been, and they quiz him about his exams. Even the headmaster seems to give him an odd look though he is not sure why. After dinner, he spends a bit of time talking with Oren about his future and what he is wants to do.

“Hey, can I see your other form?” he inquires eventually, not sure if it is considered polite or not.

The older shifter freezes for a minute, before relaxing and nodding slowly. “Yeah, I forgot for a minute there that you haven’t seen it yet. Have you ever seem a shifter fully change? I have been told for someone who has not grown up around it, it is quite remarkable. Here, let's go either outside or downstairs, I don’t want to do it in here. So how did your exams go? Are you going to be able to do what you want or are they trying to get you into a different path? What about the shifting? Were you able to call your animal? Do you know what it is?” Each question is rapid fire, the way he is getting used to with this particular shifter.

He smiles, waiting for the older shifter to stop before even trying to reply. “Jamal, me best friend, could turn into a lynx. Beautiful cat, he’s the only one in his family to change, though his aunt started to and something stopped it.”

“Normally the death of a mate or an extreme traumatic experience are the only reasons a person goes from being able to shift to being blocked.” Oren tells him with a tilt of his head and a sad expression in his eyes.

“Hmmmm, have to ask about that after. They are going to let me do it but it's going to be difficult, I think the headmaster is looking forward to me failing.” He replies, “I plan on proving him wrong. Still sure I'm going to be a cat or a ferret, leaning towards of cat, that's what I feel like anyways.”

He feels a little guilty about the fact he is not being truthful, because he already knows he is some type of leopard or lynx. Jamal had looked up pictures of both after he had shifted in his friends presence, their forms very similar. The catch was the ears, they had less fur than a leopard normally had, but they were not pointed like a lynx. He’s pretty sure he is a leopard though, just because that is what his instincts say he is. Besides, his rosettes are one color but two-tone like a leopard rather than the two colors of a lynx.

Quickly the two of them make their way downstairs to the training area. After quickly glancing around, Oren picks a spot and leads them over to it. A moment later his body shimmers as he changed from human to lynx. He watches in fascination as his new friends body changes, darker skin becoming lighter fur, eyes widening and his body dropping to all four. Startled, he walks around the older shifter several times before whistling once in shock. Moments later Oren is back in human form, a somewhat shy smile splitting his face.

“Question for you,” he states with a tilt of his head.

“Yes Eggsy? What did you think of that? If you’re a cat, you will probably look something similar, maybe, maybe not. You said leopard or lynx right?” the lynx replies with a less shy expression.

“Right,” he answers with a nod, “Does each shifter have their own pattern, or is matching patterns common?”

“Only mates have the same pattern, everyone else is different,” Oren replies, studying him. “Why?”

“Cause I have seen a lynx who looks just like you before, only a hair smaller.”

Eyes widen in shock, as the older shifter nearly stutters, “Are you sure? We could just look similar because we’re not next to each other.”

“Yeah, I’m sure, here,” he answers before digging in his pocket for his phone. They never took pictures of his cat because they were worried about them being discovered but they both have several pictures of Jamal’s cat. Opening one up, he passes the phone and watches as the older shifter pales slightly in shock.

“Is,” Oren starts, “does,” there is another pause, “is he seeing someone?”

Shaking his head, he replies, “Nah, he’s one of the smarter blokes back home, the only shifter, wants to be a librarian.”

“Oh,” is all the lynx mutters, glancing anywhere but at him.

This behavior makes him very curious, leading to his next question, “Something wrong?”

“I, ummmm, you might have just told me who my mate is and I don’t even know if he wants a mate or not since it seems like he’s not interested from what you just said.” Oren answers as he glances at him.

Rubbing his jaw, he comments, “Well he went to one of those children shifter schools ‘cause he started changing when we were kids, so he knows more about mates and whatever than I do. So maybe the reason he’s not been interested is he is waiting?”

“Oh,” is the only thing the lynx mutters again, “That’s actually a good point. Particularly if he has already gone to a shifter school because he would know about mates and our biology and shifter laws. Wait, didn’t he realize you were a shifter? If he was one, he should have been able to smell it on you? He could get in trouble if he knew and didn’t report you. That could be potentially bad, very bad.”

Chuckling, he replies, “He told me I smelled like a cat once, I told him I had just been doing volunteer work at the pound, what did he expect. We never really discussed it again.”

Again he feels slightly bad for lying but Jamal has been his friend far too long to sell him out. Besides, he’s well known for keeping his silence when it comes to situations with his friends. There was that car thing and a few other stunts they had pulled over the years where he had taken the blame rather than let them get in trouble. After all, doesn’t really matter what happens to him, it’s not like he has the best future. Well, that’s the way it had seemed at the time. Now things might be a bit different. What with his sort of forced, sort of voluntary education. Something he plans to put to good use.

“Have you seen your friend shifter often?” Oren asks, pulling him from his mind.

Shrugging, he answers, “Not really but I am familiar with his cat. We spent a lot of time trying to figure out what sort he was since we knew he wasn’t one of the big breeds and the zoo didn’t have any.”

Nodding, the older shifter leads him to the area with the fridge, grabbing a bottle of water and passing one to him.

“When do you start your classes?” Oren inquires, “I was busy reading at dinner and missed the conversation with the girls.”

Grinning, he answers, “Monday morning, though I will be doing a week of reviewing and then testing out on every class I can. That should hopefully make things a bit simpler, or at least I hope it will.”

Nodding, the older shifter seems to agree with him.

For a few minutes they just sit there in silence before Oren queries, “So do you know the sort of thing you want to teach or do you need to learn it first?”

Mischievously, because why not, he sets his bottle down before doing a handspring away followed by a short sprint, and lunging at one of the bars to start a set. Like the last time he did some of this, many of the tutors and medical personal end up watching him. Oren watches him with fascination in the older shifters eyes as he goes through a series of jumps, twists, flips, and balancing tricks before landing on his feet and sarcastically bowing to the group.

“Where’d you learn to do all that? Have you always been able to do all that? Are you sure you’re a cat cause that reminded me of a prime ape moving through a forest or a ferret in one of those jungle gyms or something. That was great! Do you think you could teach me? I don’t even know if I could learn, I am older than most to be learning that sort of stuff huh?”

“Possibly could? You’re a cat, dunno why you wouldn’t be able to learn,” he replies with a smile. “Most important thing is remembering stretches, gotta be limber, same theory as doing parkour.”

“Parkour?” Oren repeats questioningly.

“Street acrobatics and gymnastics, at least that’s what I always think of it as,” he answers with a grin, “It’s got me out of trouble with thugs on plenty of occasions since it lets me go where they only wish they could.”

“I could see how that could be useful.” The lynx comments with a serious expression, “Were thugs a common problem in your area?”

“Sorta? Mum’s piece of shit ran a gang, so they came by more than I liked.” He explains, eyes narrowing as he thinks about it, “Mr. Hart called a cop and they were arrested, close to the entire gang and the piece of shit.”

Blinking at him, it takes the lynx a moment, “Ah, Harry, yes, he is known for getting rid of threats to shifter children by any means possible. Takes his job as a finder seriously, and also takes his job as a protector seriously too.”

“Good to know, so can you explain the mate’s concept to me?” he queries, tilting his head and watching the older shifter out of the corner of his eye.

“Every shifter has a perfect mate, that perfect mate is always the same breed with matching marks whether they are smaller, bigger, or the same size.” Oren answers after a few minutes of quietness.

“Like a soulmate then?” he asks, that is the best description he can come up with.

“Eh, sort of, shifters each have a perfect mate, that mates markings are always the same, different species haven’t different biology. Like in some species both males and females can have children, in other species its only females who can, the rarer species tend to have longer than average life spans,” the older shifter tells him.

“ Really ? That’s sort of interesting in an odd sort of way, men that get pregnant? Huh,” he mumbles in response, trying to picture it and having a hard time doing so.

“In some species,” Oren agrees with another nod. “I’ve never met any of those breeds, or men who have done so, but it’s covered in zoology, which is really focused on shifters and could be called shifter biology.”

“Ah, well I am tired mate, I think I am going to bed early tonight.” He tells the older shifter as he straightens and stretches.

“Alright,” Oren replies with a smile, “Sleep well Eggsy.”

Nodding, he takes off, heading to his room to consider it. After another shower, because moving around that much can work up a sweat, he sprawls on his bed but sleep does not come to him anytime soon. With a groan, he decides to go through one of his books, and randomly just grabs one, surprised when it is the book on shifter biology.

Laughing cause that was what he had been discussing with the Lynx, he ends up starting at chapter one and just reading through, occasionally making notes on a notepad he had grabbed at the same time. He finds the differences between the shifters and their animal counterparts to be very interesting. Even more interesting to him is the fact that a shifter can ‘infect’ a non-shifter who carries the shifter gene through a bite, which is why shifters are sometimes called were-creatures.

He ends up falling asleep reading the book, his arms folding over it as he passes out.

The next day feel like it goes in a blur as he goes through each of the books while the others are in class. He also spends a good portion of his time downstairs in the gym area to see what all he can remember and do. When one of the arses mentions the fact they can leave the school on the weekend at dinner time, he comes up with an idea and a mischievous smile.

“I’d like to introduce you to Jamal,” he tells Oren once they have left the dining area.

“Jamal?” he repeats, before his eyes widen and he seems to realize who he is talking about. “Oh, do you think that’s a good idea?”

“Well yeah, if you are mates, you might as well meet. We can go in the morning,” he answers with a smirk.

Nodding hesitantly, Oren agrees.

Now he just has to call and make sure Jamal is going to be around in the morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love comments, any comments, they make me smile. 
> 
> Sorry this is not totally done, real life went rather pearshaped in January, however I will be finishing it though I will probably end up switching to a weekly posting after I get the chapter I am on done.


	6. Introducing Eurasian Lynxes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is a bit late, between the weather and my internet modem acting up, things have not been going as planned today

Eggsy’s POV  
n the morning he eats breakfast with the girls and Oren, turning to the older shifter and inquiring, “What’s the rules on leaving? How do we do this?”

Flushing, the lynx glances at the empty cup before himself, “I can check out one of the cars and we can drive to the city. We have to be back by dinner time.”

Grinning, he nods, “That works, he’s expecting us in roughly two hours.”

Groaning, Oren pinches the bridge of his nose. “This isn’t a good idea.”

“Of course it is! Beside’s I think you two will get along fine,” he replies, grin widening. He is looking forward to getting out of this place. While he has not been here a week yet, it has been a very busy and crazy week. Plus he wants to check on his mum and sister.

“Oh, who is going to get along fine?” Roxy asks with a curious glance in his direction.

“Oren, I think he will get along with me friend Jamal, they’re both lynxes.” He answers, not saying why he thinks they will get along and what he suspects.

All three girls grin and nod at each other, “Have fun!” they chorus with a shared look of mischief.

“How long will it take to get to the city?” he inquires with a tilt of his head.

Blushing, the lynx answers, “Just over an hour.”

“Good! Then we can leave here in bit,” he announces.

Groaning,  the lynx sighs and nods, standing and leaving the room quickly. 

“Another lynx Eggsy, when did you meet another lynx?” Roxy queries as she watch Oren walk off. 

“Grew up with him,” he answers with a smile, “My best friend.”

“Is he a strong shifter or the type who can change but doesn’t have strong senses in human form?” Gazelle asks before making a second plate of food. 

He shrugs, replying, “Never asked, I just thought the fact he was a shifter cool.”

All three girls nod again.

Roxy comments, “Probably weak senses or he’d have been able to smell the fact that you are a shifter.”

He just shrugs,  not commenting on the fact the two of them used to spend time together as cats. It was his best friend who had worked with him to control his form, who understood why he didn’t want to leave his mum. 

The conversation moves on to the girls plans  for the weekend and he waits for Oren. 

“Time to go collect the bookworm,” he remarks as he stands, “Hopefully he's not playin’ hide ‘n’ seek.”

“Have fun Eggsy,” Roxy tells him before returning to her conversation with the black panther and raven. 

Nodding, he heads towards the bedrooms and meets Oren just before he reaches them.

“Ready?” he queries with a tilt of his lips. 

“Not really,” the lynx answers,  “What if you’re wrong?”

Smiling, he replies, “I’ve known Jamal my entire life, I am definitely not wrong.”

Moving through the building they quickly get to the garage where the older shifter checks out a vehicle for the two of them to use. He can just about smell the nerves on Oren as they drive to the city, the ride mostly quiet except for the soft music that Oren turns on. He considers trying to get the older shifter to relax but decides that it is just as easy to wait probably.

When they get to the city, he guides him to the street that he lives on.

“Come on Oren, relax worse case is the two of you compare spots and they’re different. Otherwise,” he shrugs as he opens the door, “Well you have dinner and get to know each other.”

The lynx shoots him a dirt look but they get out of the car.

“Eggsy!” Ryan calls out as the slender human nearly sprints over to them. “There’s all sorts a rumors goin’ round about ya bein’ a shifter an’ the arse goin’ to prision an’ stuff.”

Smiling at his rather excited friend, he waits for him to stop babbling before replying, “I’m a shifter, Dean’s in jail, and this is Oren.”

A bit shyly, Oren pipes up with, “Hello.”

“Pretty bird Eggsy, but whatcha mean you’re a shifter?” the human responds.

Shaking his head, he asks, “Where’s Jamal?”

“Huh, he was right behind me but I think I left him upstairs.” Ryan answers after a moment of hesitation.

Grinning, he nods and heads towards the building of flats, “Come on Oren, race you to the top.”

The lynx glances at him, before looking at the complex and agreeing, “Okay.”

Nothing else is said as the pair races up the steps, well mostly up the steps. He takes the hand rails and does a nice flip from one spot to the other. The end result is a tie with both hitting the top step at the same time. Behind them, he can hear Ryan muttering about him being insane, but he just smirks and shrugs it off.

“Come on, his is the last flat,” he remarks, leading the lynx down the small walk way to the last door on the level. When he gets to it, he doesn’t even bother knock, just pops the door open and calls out, “Hey, I thought you were meetin’ us downstairs.”

“I was going to, ran into a small problem though,” his friend answers as he emerges from his room off to the side, “That idiot knocked a bottle of I don’t know what over and it splashed everywhere.” There is fondness in the words, despite the frustration.

Glancing about, he can see where the mess is and nods, suggesting, “Looks like leftovers.”

His long time friend steps over to where he is standing with a shrug, eyes studying his companion curiously.

“Jamal this is Oren,” he introduces the two lynxes. Turning to his long time best friend he suggests, “Be a cat for a few minutes.”

“Seriously?” there is panic and disbelief in the slightly younger lynx’s voice as his eyes flicker between them. Grumbling, his friend ends up muttering, “I suppose.” A moment later where his friend was standing is a beautiful Eurasian lynx.

“Your turn,” he tells Oren, nudging the shocked shifter’s shoulder.

“Oh, umm, yes, of course.” A moment later the older shifter has changed.

He grins as he looks at the pair staring at each other. “I was right, a matched set.” He comments, “Now I’m gonna go say hi to mum and Daisy, you two get acquainted.”

He slips out before either can actually comment or shift back, leaving them staring at each other in shock.

When he gets to his mum’s flat, he slips in, calling out, “Mum? You here?”

“Eggsy?” she replies, coming out of the bathroom, “Oh Eggsy, you didn’t run away did you? That can get ya in a lot of trouble.”

Smiling, he shakes his head, “Nope, I came to the city with me new friend Oren. Wanted to introduce him to Jamal. I think those two hit it off rather well.”

Beaming, she hugs him tightly, “Daisy’s down for her nap but should be up shortly, ya staying for a little bit?”

“I got a few hours,” he replies, and spends the next little while talking to her about what happened with Dean, himself, Daisy, and since then. A good portion of the visit is spent with him playing with Daisy, delighting in all the small changes that have occurred in the last week alone, though it makes him sad he will not get a chance to see them. About an hour and a half before he has to be back at the school he bids his mum and sister goodbye, promising to keep in touch and asking for pictures of his sister as she does new things.

It’s time to go fetch Oren so they can make their way back to the school.

-oOo-

Oren’s POV  
When Eggsy first enters the flat he is hesitant about following. After all it is not polite to enter another shifter’s territory without knocking. Yet that is exactly what he ends up doing, sticking close to the younger shifter that he has come to the city with. Its been years since he has regularly been around humans, and it’s so easy to smell the differences between them, so odd. Most of the humans spotted seem to be world weary or a threat, yet this cat walks as if he owns everything, everyone.

He barely even notices the conversation between the two younger men. Instead all he can do is breathe deeply because he feels like he has found his home, but how is that possible? He hasn’t even met the shifter whose dwelling they had entered without asking.

So when Eggsy comments, “Be a cat for a few minutes.”

He flinches because it’s not safe to shift around humans, yet he wasn’t talking to him, but the beautiful dark skinned man with the dark eyes.

A moment later he finds himself transfixed as he stares at the Eurasian lynx before him. It is one thing to suspect that they might be mates, it is a completely different thing to be confronted by that fact.

It is Eggsy nudging his shoulder that has him changing even though he still feels like there is a danger here.

He could see the spots and markings as a human, he can smell it as a shifter and all he can continue to do is stare. How is it possible that this is his mate? Yet nothing has felt realer than the connection as he slowly moves closer, head slightly lower, whiskers moving as he takes in the air surrounding them, as he finds himself longing to touch. He’s never wanted to touch people, he’s not a hugger or a toucher, yet right now he wants to touch him.

Jamal. His mate. The Eurasian lynx who bares the same spots as him.

Noses touch and a soft huff of a laugh escapes his lips even though as a cat he cannot actually laugh. Maybe he should return to his human form? But he doesn’t want to. He wants to run his nose and whiskers over every inch of this beautiful cat’s fur, he wants to rub his head against his mate’s shoulder, he wants to play. All things he is not going to do any time soon, not here in this cramped flat that smells like cat and home.

Shifting, he stares at the lynx, one hand hesitantly reaching out to run along Jamal’s rosettes, his tongue flicking out as he continues to stare in fascination. A small hope builds behind his ribs that Eggsy will be right and this cat, his mate, will accept him.

“I’m Oren,” he states, still dazed, because his mate is in front of him, and he doesn’t know what to do.

“Jamal,” a warm voice answers as the other lynx becomes a human again. “Wanna drink?”

“Yes please,” he answers with a smile. Already thinking that he is going to tell his parents he’s found him. That he is going to find a way to get to know this lynx. Already planning to find something, anything that uses his education and let’s him spend time with this beautiful person.

There is a warmth spreading through him, one unlike any other he can remember and he hopes it never fades.

He doesn’t keep track of time as they have fizzy drinks and eat snack foods while getting to know each other. So when Eggsy shows up to tell him they need to get going he is surprised but his companion is not.

“Call me,” Jamal tells him, handing him a slip of paper with a phone number and email quickly jotted down.

He can’t stop the flush that covers his skin as he nods in agreement. He will definitely call, just as soon as he can find his voice again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Publishing schedule, I will update one or two stories on Saturday, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
> 
> My tumblr with information on stories and myself [JaimiStoryTeller](http://jaimistoryteller.tumblr.com/)
> 
> I love reviews, comments, and any other sort of communication, feel free to stop in to say hi


	7. The Next Seven Days

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this is a few hours late, here it is however! I had a massive case of writers annoyance, that state where I knew exactly what I wanted to type right up until I had the word document in front of me, at which time my brain blanked out. Hope everyone enjoys

Eggsy’s POV  
After the trip to the city, introducing his best friend to what might be his mate, visiting with his mum and sister, he is ready to get spend time studying. Starting Monday morning he has to take the required classes, but his afternoons are still his for this next week as he studies for the tests to test out on several of the classes. If he manages to pass them, then he will only have half as many classes to take, and it would greatly reduce how long he would have to take classes or let him have some wiggle room with his classes.

So he spends every minute he has free either in his room studying or in the library studying. He wants to ace these tests that are coming up on Friday and after he does the tests, he is going to study his arse off in order to get a head in everything else. At least that is the goal, he’s not actually sure if it will work.

When he is in the library Jessica often asks if he wants something to drink since he only goes in there during the afternoons when she is there. Oren and the girls are surprised when the first time she does it while they are studying with him, and he ignores their shock. He gets along with folks ‘cause he accepts them as is, and he had accepted her as is, so they get along great. The others, well they either never accepted her or never figured out how to go about doing so and he is just a bit too busy right now to be the one to tell them.

His breakfasts and dinners are spent in the dining hall, but lunch is often eaten downstairs before he starts his daily exercises, not that he has to do them, just that he wants to. It helps burn off the energy he knows would otherwise build up from spending so much time studying between lunch and dinner, and after dinner.

On Thursday night he doesn’t feel the least bit ready, but he knows that there is not left for him to keep studying. Still he does a bit of exercising before he goes to bed, tempted to shift and relax in his cat form, but not wanting to risk the others discovering it so he doesn’t shift. Damn it, he really wishes he was at home right now, he would be over to Jamal’s flat, their cats curled up together as they just relax.

In the morning he does one last set of exercises before washing up and going to breakfast. His classes are quick, the hardest part being the shifting control class, and that’s mostly because it takes far more energy not to fully shift than it does to shift. Though he will have a pretty awesome mix form down by time he is done with this and finally lets the cat out of the bag that he actually can shift.

The tests seem to go on forever, even though logically he knows it is only the time between lunch and dinner, and not even all of it. Most of the tests he is certain he passed with flying colors, it seemed too easy even though her knows that it wasn’t actually as easy as it seemed, he just had a lot of prep work. It’s amazing how much he can accomplish when he doesn’t have to worry about things and can just focus. Of course he is sure there is two tests he didn’t pass, but whatever, it will still reduce the amount of classes and work he is going to have to do for the A-levels and his bachelor degrees.

“I’ll give you the results Sunday afternoon if that’s alright?” Percy inquires as they stand after finishing the last one.

“A’course,” he answers with a nod, “Probably what classes to start with too?”

“Yes,” the older shifter replies with a nod of his own. “I half expected you would need a second day to test after seeing how many were available yet you managed to complete all of them in a relatively short time. I have high expectations for your results.”

He smiles, rolling his shoulders a bit and wanting to change but knowing that’s not happening any time soon, instead after dinner he will work it off downstairs on the bars. After all, that’s how he would have burnt off the extra energy before discovering he was a shifter, and its only when he has been still for long periods that he starts feeling the need to move about, probably his cat trying to get him to not be so still. After all, cats can be amazingly still but not for days at a time, they don’t like it.

“Have a good dinner and weekend Eggsy, if I do not talk with you between now and Sunday night,” Percy comments, “Meet here after dinner?”

“Sounds good,” he replies.

“Well then, I am going to take all this to my office, you can head to the dining room,” his tutor and instructor tells him with a smile.

“A’right,” he agrees feeling rather hungry to go with the nervous energy. “Talk to you Sunday.”

As soon as he gets in the dining room and into his spot, the girls want to know how he did. Laughing, he tells them he will not know until Sunday, though they all seem sure he did great. After dinner he heads downstairs to burn off all the extra energy he is currently feeling. He actually makes plans with Oren to head back into the city, he’ll visit with his family a bit more and Oren can visit with Jamal, though he loves the various shades of pink the lynx turns as they make their plans.

Saturday goes smoothly enough, despite the fact that Oren is even more nervous time for who knows what reason. Doesn’t matter, they’re still going to have a good day, and sure enough they do. Jamal and Oren do whatever possible mates do while he spends the time with his mum and sister. He enjoys playing with the little girl, watching her giggle and seeing her smile. When his mum gives him the news about Dean and the fact he is never coming back he has a hard time stopping himself from smirking in pleasure that the threat is gone even if it did result in a change of plans.

When they get back to the school, he spends more time down stairs, and Roxy joins him, watching as he goes through several different sets.

“Are you normally this active or is it a side effect of being cooped up lately?” she eventually inquires when he stops to drink some water.

“I normally burn off a lot of energy avoiding the arse’s dogs,” he answers, not bothering to explain further because he doesn’t feel the need to.

She nods without asking and smiles as she watches him do the next set.

The following day is spent with the girls and Oren, mostly relaxing while they work on assignments. He does some reading without putting his entire focus on it, no reason to focus on something he might not need to and what not.

After dinner he heads to the library expecting to speak with Percy, instead running into Harry Hart.

“Good evening Eggsy, Percy was called away so I offered to deliver the results and schedule to you, thought that might work better than the headmaster.” The older shifter tells him without waiting for him to respond.

“Right,” he replies with a nod, eyes narrowing. According to the others, Harry might assist with the control classes and fetching of students but that is normally it.

“Shall we?” the older shifter inquires, motioning towards one of the side tables in a rather secluded part of the library.

“Sure,” he answers with a nod, turning and heading over there.

As they walk he takes a breath, his tongue flicking out to wet his lips as he registers the fact Harry is a cat, and his scent, now that he is not feeling overwhelmingly pissed, is very familiar. Well then, that’s rather interesting. Why would his scent be familiar? That’s something to think about when he is not sitting in front of the older shifter.

The next hour is spent reviewing his papers before Harry declares they are done and asks if he has any questions. Since he doesn’t, he just accepts the results and the schedule, bids the older man good night and heads to his room. Somehow he passed all of them, though the two he thought he failed were not the best passes ever, still they were passes. That is a great thing, and lets him know which books he can return to the library the next day, until then, well he’s actually feeling a bit tired so a shower and bed is the plan for the rest of the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Publishing schedule, I will update one or two stories on Saturday, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
> 
> My tumblr with information on stories and myself [JaimiStoryTeller](http://jaimistoryteller.tumblr.com/)
> 
> I love reviews, comments, and any other sort of communication, feel free to stop in to say hi


	8. Visiting Home and Realizations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This has been one of those weeks, hope everyone enjoys

Eggsy’s POV  
The following morning after breakfast he turns in the extra books and gets the books he will need for the degree he is planning on working on. Once he has done that, he tracks Oren down to talk him into visiting the city with him. He wants to go tell his mum about his exams in person, plus it gives the older shifter a chance to visit with Jamal. He is quite happy that the lynx just chuckles and agrees.

When they get to the flats, he watches with a smile as his long time friend comes trotting down the steps.

“Hullo Eggsy,” Jamal greets them, “Oren.”

“Jamal,” he responds with a smirk, “’ow’s it been?”

Shrugging and tilting his head a bit, his long time friend answers, “Good, a lot better since he’s been gone with his goons.”

“Great,” he replies, “’head up to see mum and Daisy.”

“Have fun, we’ll be at my place for a bit,” Jamal tells him before he loops off to the flat.

Slipping in, he calls, “Mum? You ‘ome?”

“Eggsy?” his mum responds, coming out of the bathroom, “Eggsy!”

Grinning, he gives her a quick hug, “’ello mum, thought I would give you the news I passed all the exams so I ‘ave nearly ‘alf the amount of classes I’d otherwise need.”

“That’s great Eggsy!” his mum happily exclaims, giving him another hug.

A moment later small whimpering noises draw his attention to the crib. Heading over to it, he scoops his sister up, kissing her forehead and tickling her belly. She giggles at him, grabbing for his face.

For the next few hours he visits with his mum, talking about how things are going and telling her about what he is going to be taking. When they are done talking, he spends the rest of his visit playing with his sister and watching TV. About an hour before they have to be back at the school, he hugs his mum and sister before heading over to Jamal’s flat to collect Oren and head back to the school.

His nose twitches as he enters the flat and he realizes something, Oren and Jamal in their cat forms smell very similar, almost the same actually, with only minor differences between their scents. Well that’s interesting.

“’ey mates, time for us to be going.” He announces as he grins at the matched cats curled up on the sofa together. They look good curled up, and if not for the fact he has known Jamal for years, he’d have a hard time telling them apart. His nose twitches, and he takes in their scents, finding the minor variations between them.

A moment later the cats are replaced by the human versions, followed by a quick hug and a promise to call.

During the ride back to the school, he queries, “You two dating?”

Blushing, Oren nods, “Yeah, that’s the human word for it. A shifter would normally call it courting, and generally it involves a lot of different steps but I am not sure how to go about courting someone without a family of shifters. Do you know if he was raised with human or shifter values? If he thinks of himself as a human or a shifter? Do you think he would mind me courting him? Or do you think he would prefer dating?”

He bites back a chuckle, knowing that the older shifter is nervous, “Why don’t you just ask ‘im?”

“I,” the lynx stammers, “Ummm, I don’t want to sound like an idiot.”

Smiling, he replies, “Nah, ‘e’d appreciate it. Jamal is a rather blunt person, you might ‘ave noticed.” Shrugging he suggests, “Just ask ‘im outright if ‘e would prefer ‘uman dating or shifter courting.”

The lynx nods slowly, worrying his lower lip between his teeth. “Yeah, that’d probably be best.” Changing the topic, his new friend asks, “So how was your visit with your mum and sister?”

“Good, Daisy’s growing so fast, mum seems to be ‘appier than I ‘ave seen ‘er in years.” He replies easily.

The rest of the ride is spent with them talking about how their respective visits went. He enjoys listening to Oren babble about his friend. While it is all information he knows, its still cute the way Oren seems to find it fascinating.

When they get back to the school, there is still a little time left before dinner so he goes and gets a shower, wanting to shift but not and missing the way he used to curl up with Jamal as a cat. over the next month or so he is going to slowly let his cat out so he can fully shift without having to worry about anyone noticing, mostly because it would be great to run the property here. Since he has always hidden his cat, he’s never actually had a chance to take a good run.

Getting dressed, he heads to the dining room for dinner. Somehow he finds himself seated between Oren and Harry. Which is rather odd since Harry normally sits a little further down.

His nose twitches and he realizes that he can smell whatever that familiar scent is again. Its teasing just at the edge of his memory, but he cannot seem to bring it to the surface.

Giving a small shake of his head, he listens to the conversations around him, occasionally chiming in, but mostly just smiling. Someone suggests a demonstration of shifting abilities after dinner and for whatever reason the headmaster decides it’s a good idea. So when the meal is done practically everyone heads downstairs. The headmaster doesn’t change shapes but most of the teachers do. He finds their forms interesting but he doesn’t pay much attention to any of them until Harry changes.

Harry is a leopard. The exact same type of leopard as him. His fur is silvery white with golden tips, black and brown rosettes blended into the fur. Long whiskers flicker as he lifts his head and the very tip of his v-shaped nose twitches.

He can feel his eyes widening as he realizes exactly why Harry smelled familiar. He could smell his leopard on the older man.

Now that’s a development he wasn’t expecting. Well shit. Like life wasn’t crazy enough, now he has a really strong suspicion that Harry is his mate. Actually, it’s not a suspicion, he’s pretty sure of it. They have identical markings and nearly identical scents. How the hell did he end up with a mate in the man who first discovered him as a shifter? At least he finds the older man hot, but yeah, he is not going to think about that epiphany right now. He’ll think about it later, in the privacy of his own bedroom. For now he is just going to enjoy watching everyone shift and show off their forms if they can. If his eyes happen to go to Harry a bit more than anyone else, well that’s his business.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Publishing schedule, I will update one or two stories on Saturday, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
> 
> My tumblr with information on stories and myself [JaimiStoryTeller](http://jaimistoryteller.tumblr.com/)
> 
> I love reviews, comments, and any other sort of communication, feel free to stop in to say hi


	9. After the Demonstration

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is a day late, I thought I had a few things done, checked the word and google docs and they were not, so here I am retyping it.

Eggsy’s POV

When the first people start to slip away, he retreats back to his room to think.

What to do about the situation he finds himself in? Right now he really wishes he could just talk with Jamal because he is trying to decide what course of action would be best. Fine, how to deal with this? Cause he has to. There is no doubt about that. The question is just how? Time for some lists or charts or something. Damn. This is normally where Jamal helps the most. He’s a think on his feet type, not a plan things out type.

Grabbing a notebook and pen, he starts making a list of what he needs to consider about this situation.

  1. He’s working on A-Levels and Bachelor’s degree at the same time
  2. Has not ‘fully shifted’ in the control class, as far as they know, he can only partly shift
  3. He’s some type of leopard
  4. Harry Hart, sometimes called Galahad, is a leopard
  5. They are mates according to the fact they look and smell the same when it comes to their cats 6. He’s bisexual so the fact his mate is a male doesn’t bother him
  6. He has a mate, who does not know that they are mates, and mates are not something common among humans, its more permanent than marriage.
  7. He has to be careful about how he shows he is able to fully shift, if he does it too quickly he will put Jamal at risk
  8. Is Harry open to a relationship with a man?
  9. What does he know about Harry?
  10. How to go about learning about Harry?
  11. Does he want to pursue something with Harry while he is still working on finishing his A-Levels and Bachelor’s degree?
  12. Are there any customs that he needs to be aware of?
  13. How does the fact his mate is a member of the staff effect his welcome here? Will it affect how things are?
  14. Where does Harry normally live?
  15. How does Harry feel about family?
  16. Does Harry have family? If so, what’s his relationship like with them?



Pausing, he taps the pen on the paper for a moment, considering if there is anything else he knows or wonders about and thinks he should find out about.

  1. Does Harry have a type of food preference? Such as is he a fan of simple meals, or fancy food, meat lover or vegetarian? Is he the type to eat three meals a day or eight meals or snacks, large meals or small meals?
  2. Does Harry like animals or pets?
  3. Would Harry want t have a family of their own if they manage to work things out as mates? If so, does the fact they are men affect the choices?



Again he pauses and taps he pen on the paper as he considers what he has written so far. He feels like he is missing stuff, but he cannot think of anything else right now. Well, he can always add to the list later, that is the beautiful thing about writing out lists.

Standing, he puts everything away and heads into the bathroom to take a shower while he keeps thinking about the situation trying to figure out what to do. As it is, he has far more questions than answers. That’s alright though. He is very good at finding out information and not leaving his scent everywhere while he does it. That is part of how he managed to not get caught living among non-shifters for so long, otherwise he would have had to worry any time he came in contact with them, instead the only ones he ever had to worry about were ones he had long term exposure to, and he limited that to Jamal since he knew that the lynx wouldn’t give him away.

Rubbing his eyes, he realizes how tired he is and decides he is not going to make any choices right now. Instead he will review the list and what he knows in the morning and go from there. Thankfully, tomorrow is a Sunday which will give him plenty of time in order to think about what he wants to do.

-o-O-o-

Harry’s POV

When it is strongly suggested at dinner that the elder shifters do a display of their abilities and forms, he is both delighted and annoyed by it. He can show off his snow leopard, preen and display himself to his mate. Yet he wishes they were not surrounded by so many people while he does it. The entire time he is in his cat form, he can feel Eggsy’s eyes on him, though he only allows himself to look at the younger shifter twice.

Both times Eggsy’s eyes are narrow and thoughtful, reminding him that the younger leopard had helped set up Oren with his friend Jamal after discovering that they were the same type of cat. If his suspicions are correct, the Eggsy already knows what he is, and might actually recognize that they are mates.

Should that change his plans? No. He’ll stick with it as a way to slowly build his relationship so it is a nice and strong relationship. He wants one like his parents have, even if his parents drive him nuts sometimes because they want him to find his mate. Look, he did, sort of.

He spends part of the time he is with his best friend, and occasionally encouraging some of the students who do know how to full change to shift.

When people start leaving the massive gym, he watches as Eggsy slips away without saying anything to anyone. He ends up being one of the last to shift and leave the gym as he gets lost in his thoughts.

“Ya gonna change back?” his best friend inquires as he stops beside him and holds out a water to him.  


A moment later, he returns to his human form, accepting the water and downing almost all of it in one go.

“I think Eggsy is aware we’re mates,” he tells the bald hacker as he stares at the door. Right now he is really happy this room has excellent ventilation considering how many people had been down here not to long before and the fact he has sharper senses when he first shifts back, meaning he can still smell most of those people in the air.

“Does that change anything?” Merlin queries with a tilt of his head.

“No, I want to build a strong relationship that only happens if we actually get to know each other. Besides, he’s still not ‘full shifting’ so as far anyone here knows he doesn’t know what he is.” He answers slowly, his ears perked to make sure no one is listening. “I’m not outing him.”

His friend nods slowly, before suggesting, “Let’s go to one of our offices and get something a bit stronger than water to drink.”

Smiling, he nods, “That sounds like a good idea.”

He’ll worry about the plan and the consequences of Eggsy knowing about his leopard tomorrow. Tonight he is just going to spend some time with his best friend and relax.

-o-O-o-

Roxy’s POV

She had watched as Eggsy kept an eye on Harry and Jamal, not bothering to attempt shifting even though she is well aware that he can partial shift if nothing else. Perhaps he feels there are too many people around and it would mess up his focus, but something tells her that is not it. There is recognition in his gaze as he watches the snow leopard moving around, occasionally encouraging some of the others to change. What does he recognize?

“You’re thinking loudly,” her best friend grumbles, stretching out on her bed and glancing over at her with a tilt of her head.

“Did you see how Eggsy responded to everyone shifting?” she queries eventually.

“You mean the fact he was the only person not to attempt shifting at all, that he stayed out of the way and watched everyone else, but paid attention to out small group and Hart the most?” Gazelle responds, her voice laced with amusement.

“Yeah,” she nods, “Why was he watching Harry? That’s what I want to know. Is he mad because he brought him here? Does the leopard remind him of something? Does he know more about his form than he lets on?”

“That’s possible, mixed breeds and ones who come from primary human families present younger than full bloods. So it’s all together possible he’s hiding his abilities.” The dark-haired woman answers thoughtfully. “We’ve both seen how agile and intelligent he is, it’s not that hard to believe he plays dumb when it comes to his form in order to avoid the law. Particularly since I have a feeling he did not live in a good part of the city. We know he has family, it’s possible his instincts insisted he stick around to protect them, which would have caused him to hide as well.”

Both of them fall quiet as they consider everything said between them. Gazelle is probably right, that would explain so much. He’s their friend, so she is not saying anything to anyone who could cause him problems.

“We’ll help him however he needs. We just need to let him know that.” Gazelle eventually states, saying what’s on both their minds.

“We will.” She agrees, turning off the lights and crawling into her own bed.

Tomorrow, she thinks, tomorrow we’ll talk with him about it. Let him know that he has a support system here. That he is not alone. That he has friends who will be there for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Publishing schedule, I will update one or two stories on Saturday, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
> 
> My tumblr with information on stories and myself [JaimiStoryTeller](http://jaimistoryteller.tumblr.com/)
> 
> I love reviews, comments, and any other sort of communication, feel free to stop in to say hi


	10. Before Breakfast

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was supposed to be posted last night, however I had one of those weeks were if something could go wrong it did, so I didn't get it finished until this morning. As such, today I will be posting yesterdays stuff along with todays stuff, and I will still post the regular chapter come Friday to.
> 
> Also, sorry its short, I reworked it three times, it didn't want to grow, and kept cutting off here, so there you have it.

Eggsy’s POV

The following day he is startled when there is a knock at his door just before breakfast.

Since he likes to shower before the breakfast, he is still wet, a towel wrapped around his hips.

“I can smell you, open the door Eggsy.” He hears Gazelle order him, “We want a word with you.”

“It’s open,” he calls out, deciding that they can just deal with the fact he is in nothing but a towel, that most of his skin is smooth and clear but there are a few patches where the scars stuck from before he learned that if he shifted, it forced most the damage to heal, meaning he had less scars and shorter recovery times.

The door opens, revealing Roxy and Gazelle, both of which quietly come in the room before shutting the door behind them.

Gazelle’s eyes rake over him appreciatively before she leans against the door.

Roxy glances at him, her face flushing as she focuses on his face.

He just stands there, hand on his hip, holding the towel in place as he waits for them to say whatever has them barging into his room before breakfast. “Yeah?”

“Why didn’t you attempt shifting yesterday Eggsy?” Roxy eventually inquires.

His nose twitches as he picks up their scents. Gazelle thinks he is attractive, though she is not aroused, which is interesting. Roxy isn’t sure what she is feeling, there is attraction and confusion, with just a bit of curiosity.

“Didn’t feel like,” he replies easily, “That it?”

“I think I know the real reason,” Gazelle states as she continues to watch him, “You’re smart, agile, and you’re a mixed breed. I suspect that you are a full shifter, and I suspect you are more aware of shifter history and customs than you like to let on.”

He just blinks at her, his features blank in a way he learned long ago when dealing with the shit called Dean and his pieces of garbage.

“We just want you to know we aren’t going to say anything and we’ll support you if you need help with anything.” The falcon assures him with a warm smile.

He maintains the blank face, and focuses on keeping his scent low key.

“That’s an interesting trick,” the black panther tells him, “I don’t think I have ever seen, well scented, someone hide their emotions like that.”

His lips quirk in a smirk, “Dunno what you’re talkin’ about.”

“Right and Charlie is my favorite person.” The black panther retorts with a smirk of her own.

“Really?” he just about coos, “I never would have guessed you like swine!”

Her response is to roll her eyes and flip him off.

“Really? You two have to do that?” the bird of prey chuckles, “We should hang out later, after breakfast. It’s our free day anyways.”

“Does that mean you’re done admiring me?” he queries sarcastically, really hoping that they are exiting the room. He doesn’t know them that well, and they have a good idea about his secret, which makes him nervous. Just because they are on their way to being friends doesn’t mean he trusts them the way he trusts Jamal. He is neither going to confirm or deny what she said.

“Eggsy, I promise we’re not a threat,” Roxy promises him seriously.

His head just barely twitches in a nod, “Alright, after breakfast,” he agrees.

The girls leave his room without saying anything else, leaving him alone with his thoughts and to get dressed on his own.

This could definitely be a problem. It’s not like he has a lot of choices, he is stuck here for a while since he has been outed. Still he doesn’t want to confirm that he has that particular trick down. He can probably go from human to cat faster than any of the students. He’ll just have to see what happens next, hopefully they will end up being good friends that he can trust with secrets, but that is yet to be seen. In the meanwhile, it doesn’t hurt to keep visiting and getting to know them.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Publishing schedule, I will update one or two stories on Saturday, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
> 
> My tumblr with information on stories and myself [JaimiStoryTeller](http://jaimistoryteller.tumblr.com/)
> 
> I love reviews, comments, and any other sort of communication, feel free to stop in to say hi


	11. Next Thirty Days

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I am moving this to a Saturday update, since that's when I have updated it most the time, here is this one, and I almost have next weeks done so it should be posted earlier in the day

Eggsy’s POV

Breakfast that day was a bit tense, not surprising considering the visit from the girls put him on edge, though he managed to mask most of it. Once again he found himself seated next to Harry though he was not sure why. There was plenty of room at the other end of the table with the teachers. Since besides saying hello, the older man doesn’t speak with him, he finds himself slowly relaxing as he speaks with the girls and Oren.

“So I might have found a job in the city,” the lynx tells them, skin blushing hot red, “I have an interview tomorrow.”

“That’s great Oren!” the falcon exclaims, “Why didn’t you mention it yesterday?”

Ducking his head, the slightly older lynx answers, “I just got the confirmation email this morning.”

“I wish you the best of luck,” the panther remarks.

“Thanks!” Oren replies as he makes himself a small plate, one of the few times he has seen the lynx eat with them in the morning.

“So what sort of job is it?” Amelia queries after drinking some orange juice.

“Teaching post for a library, I will be running a small night class for those who need extra help with their sums.” The lynx answers.

“Awesome,” he comments with a smile, “I hope it works for you.” He doesn’t mention living arrangements, figuring that the two lynxes wish to discuss themselves. Even if they do not move in together immediately, he is sure that they will still want to live close, or closer than they currently do, and make arrangements to see each other more. He wishes them all the luck, because he knows how difficult living as an adult can be, particularly when dealing with relationships and that’s what they are doing. Besides, he is pretty certain that Oren has lived a mostly sheltered life, even if he did live in the city, because that’s the impression he got from the older shifter both times they visited the city. Not that it’s a problem.

After breakfast, he ends up downstairs with the girls, Roxy and Gazelle both want to see if they can learn some of the same tricks he does. Apparently they like how flexible and acrobatic he can be. So they spend a bit of time working on stretches, going over different ways to work on their body’s limberness and flexibility. It’s quite fun actually. Of course they manage to talk him into another demonstration of his skills, and he enjoys going through a few of the routines that he has loved doing for years, particularly the ones he uses to escape Dean and his thugs.

They skip lunch, taking it in the kitchen almost an hour after it’s officially done. The girls introduce him to the staff, and he charms each of them, quickly getting to know them with a warm smile and pleasant personality. They even give them some snacks for later, with mischievous smiles that let him know that they probably aren’t supposed to. That is confirmed by Roxy who can’t stop laughing when they go outside, apparently in all the years she has been around, she’s never seen the kitchen staff take to a new person so fast.

Dinner goes quietly, and yet again he has Harry beside him, even occasionally speaking with him about random topics that are floating around the table. He finds it suspicious but doesn’t plan to question it since it goes well with his desire to get to know the person who is probably his mate.

Yeah, he still needs to just think about that for a bit. Or think about it a bit more in any event. Still, for now, he will just accept the oddness of it all.

Apparently, according to the girls Harry is well known for doing random things.

Starting the following day, he has his official classes, and continues to work on his shape shifting, or faking working on his shape shifting anyways. He has already decided by the end of the month he will be full shifting, just so he can turn that attention towards some of his other classes instead. He is also working his way through all of the assignments that he can, starting with the topics he has the hardest time with, and going to the topics that are easiest.

Research is something he excels at, though it seems to surprise Mr. Richmond the first time he turns in a rather thick and detailed report in response to an assignment. Despite being surprised, the older shifter is very pleased, and he finds himself getting the assignments a head of time more often. For which he is thankful for since it allows him a bit of extra time to work on them. At the same time, he feels like he is getting harder assignments than some of the others until he finds out that its not so much that they are harder as he is getting them in quicker order.

All the classes are set up on a circlural pattern, and he is getting the information at the speed in which he is completing it rather than at a preset time frame. He still gets the same exams as the others, so that’s not a big deal. Sometimes he finds himself a head by a few weeks, sometimes just at the same point.

The class he has the hardest time with is actually computers, and that’s more because he gets easily distracted than for any other reason. Still, when he can keep his focus he does good there too, though not nearly as brilliantly as Amelia or Roxy. That’s alright, he doesn’t feel like he is in a competition with them, unlike some of the other arses at the school.

The last day of his first full month, he decides to complete the shift. Mostly because he is tired of stopping himself when he doesn’t have to, and really, he’s picked everything else up quickly, so why would this be any different as far as they know.

The day he changes is rather cold and wet, not surprising since they are in the Britain. That’s actually rather normal. The frustrating part was the fact day before had been sweltering hot, far hotter than normal, dangerously so.

After listening to some of the gibes from Charlie and his little band of idiots, he stops focusing on stopping the shift, and allows it to flow through him. He feels as his skin ripples, short fur sprouting along his body as his bones and muscles contort, changing as he drops from standing on his back legs to standing on four paws. Stretching, he enjoys the way everything pops into place. His face elongates and his tail emerges to swish from side to side as he completes the change.

Lifting his head, he roars for the first time in years, enjoying the way everything single one of his fellow classmates and the teachers turn to stare.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Publishing schedule, I will update one or two stories on Saturday, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
> 
> My tumblr with information on stories and myself [JaimiStoryTeller](http://jaimistoryteller.tumblr.com/)
> 
> I love reviews, comments, and any other sort of communication, feel free to stop in to say hi


	12. Reactions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So here is the awaited reactions to the fact Eggsy can turn into a snow leopard. Hope you all enjoy!

_Roxy’s POV_  
He’s bigger than I thought he would be, she thinks as she studies the snow leopard standing there. Sleeker, stronger, definitely more than I was expecting. Yet he looks right. Only now that she can see his cat, she sees something else. The markings.

They’re identical to Harry’s.

She should know, she has seen those markings often enough growing up and during training. Is that part of why he hid himself? Does he know? That day everyone was shifting, Eggsy had kept looking at Harry, even though he hadn’t changed with everyone else. Is this why? Did he know when he saw Harry that they were mates? Or could be? Snow leopards are one of the rarest of the shifter forms, how is it possible that a mixed breed could be one?

Yet there is no doubt about it as Eggsy roars, he is definitely a snow leopard.

-o-O-o-

 _Gazelle’s POV  
_ Perfect, she thinks as her eyes sweep over the slightly younger shifter. His cat is amazing. The smoothness between human and cat confirms for her at least that he had been faking not knowing how to shift. He is far too settled on his feet not to be aware of how to move with four legs and a tail instead of two. It’s a beautiful thing.

Changing, she dashes over to greet him as a cat, her panther delighting in the fact he is another cat, even if he is not an available mate. That’s alright, they can remain friends, maybe even become better ones. Since they are both cats, they can easily race each other and play together.

His cat smells like family, she thinks as they take turns sniffing each other’s necks before she head butts him, trying to get him to play.

Her panther is pleased when he does so. Delighting her and taking the last of her doubt away, he is far too comfortable as a cat not to know how to shift. This is going to be a lot of fun.

-o-O-o-

 _Oren’s POV_  
Today was his last day at the school, so of course he had attended the shifting class. No reason not to.

When the loud roar rips through the air he finds himself turn to face it, amazed to see that Eggsy has finally fully shifted and is a beautiful snow leopard. Actually, Eggsy’s leopard reminds him of something, but it is escaping his mind right now. He feel like he is missing something really important yet it’s not coming to him as he stares at the cat.

He can’t stop the laugh that escapes his lips when Gazelle suddenly changes and approaches him. When they get done scenting each other’s shoulders they set to playing, and he decides: well why not. It’s my last day here anyways.

Changing, he joins the other two cats, and realizes that his friend has barely any cat scent. That’s odd, most the time, new shifters almost reek of their animal form. Perhaps that is how he could have a shifter friend who didn’t realize that he was a shifter. A little voice in the back of his head brings up the possibility that he knows how to control how much scent he lets off, maybe Jamal actually knows about Eggsy, but because of their friendship has never said anything.

Either way, it will be nice for his mate and his friend to be able to hang out together as cats. Only a small part of his mind wonders if they have in the past, before he pushes that aside in order to just enjoy the playing.

-o-O-o-

 _Percy’s POV_  
He stares in amazement at his student as he goes from human to cat seamlessly. His body changing with ease and a familiarity that just about screams of previous practice. Still, he is amazed as he watches. Only once the younger man has finished his shift he can feel his eyes widening, he knows those markings well, he should after all, Harry was the one who helped to teach him how to shift.

So his pupil is his long time friend’s mate. Now that is going to be an interesting situation. Harry is from a long line of leopards, he is a pure blood shifter, and he is the one who had brought Eggsy here. There was definitely going to be some friction over at least one of those situations, the question is just which one.

Still, he will be there for both. Why not after all, he’s been friends with Harry for years, and feels as if he is becoming Eggsy’s friend. He’ll just have to make sure both are aware of that fact. If nothing else, he can work with his niece, he is sure she has some insight into the younger snow leopard’s mentality since they have been building a friendship over the last several weeks.

-o-O-o-

 _Chester’s POV  
_ When the roar echoes through the school, he quickly turns on his computer monitor and flips through the different rooms until he gets to the training hall where the students are currently working on their changing. He is angered when he sees that the mutt has changed. More than that, the mutt is one of the rarest types of shifters. How is that even remotely possible? Yet he cannot deny it as he rewinds the footage to watch as Gary goes from human to cat.

How frustrating. He had been betting that the partial shift is all the mutt would ever do. Now he will have to allow Gary to finish his education no matter what because as full shifter, and Gary is definitely that, it is guaranteed right. He is not looking forward to having that mutt around any longer than he has to. Hopefully he will do something that can get him kicked out. If not, well, he will just ignore him.

 

-o-O-o-

 _Merlin’s POV  
_ He watches through his cameras as the class changes their forms, watches as Eggsy goes from human to shifter far smoother than he has ever seen a beginner do so, confirming the suspicion that he shares with Harry. He is surprised when he feels the roar echoing through the building, and doesn’t bother stopping the laughter that bubbles up at the expressions on everyone’s faces at that roar.

Clicking on the intercom, he pages his long time friend, “Are ya watchin’ the shiftin’ class right now?”

“No, why would I?” the leopard queries distractedly, “Did you hear that roar?”

“Oh yeah, I heard.” He answers seriously. “Come ta my office,” he suggests before closing the intercom.

A minute later his friend is striding through the door like he owns it, not shocking, Harry tends to act like that no matter where he goes.

“So?” the leopard queries, his facial expression bland as he glances at the big screen on the wall that he is currently streaming the video to. That video stream catches the cat’s attention nearly instantly. “I was right,” the leopard mutters as he stares at the three cats playing together, one’s form just like his.

-o-O-o-

 _Harry’s POV_  
He can’t stop staring at the large screen on the wall as the video stream plays.

Eggsy has finished his first shift officially. He’s snow leopard is playing with Gazelle’s black panther and Oren’s Eurasian lynx. They are chasing, tackling, pinning, and otherwise acting like cubs. The others in the class are watching, some in shock, some in amusement.

He was right. There is no doubt about it. Gary ‘Eggsy’ Unwin is definitely his mate.

“Here,” his bald friend states as he thrusts a tumbler towards him.

He accepts it without looking, and downs it without taking his eyes off the screen.

“Merlin,” he mutters a moment later as the after burn rushes down his throat.

“Yeah, I know,” the hacker and computer expert responds, walking around the desk to pour him another as they watch his mate.

“What am I going to do?” he asks a bit lost. Eggsy must have been the one to roar, he thinks as he keeps his eyes glued to the screen.

“Whatcha were already plannin’,” Merlin replies with a shrug, “No reason to change the plans.”

Forcing himself to think it through, he nods once, looking away from the screen and at the Scottish man, “Very true,” he agrees. “I already have a plan. I might as well continue it. So far it seems to be working at least a little bit. In a few weeks time I will join the shifting class for a day, as Eggsy is the last one needing to full shift in our current group, they will probably be holding a few classes outside soon.”

“Meybe,” the taller man responds with a nod, “He’s smaller than ya, but bigger than I expected.”

As he glances at the cats still rough housing, he nods in agreement, “True. Not surprising though. Considering he is shorter and slender than I am, I would be more shocked if he was closer to my size.”

“Yeah, that’s a fact,” Merlin mutters, pouring them both third tumblers full of whatever type of alcohol they are having. It’s not his normal brand. Well, it’s not any of his normal brands. “Not gettin’ this again.”

“That’s probably best, this has to be one of your lesser choices.” He remarks, eyes still flickering over the screen and the shifters on it.

“Want to see his initial change?” Merlin queries with a tilt of his head.

“I would,” he replies with a firm nod.

Going back to the other side of the desk, the bald shifter taps at the buttons on his keyboard, and the screen changes. Instead of live feed, it plays what has already been recorded.

He watches in fascination as Eggsy is directed to attempt changing by Ashley.

A small smile plays across the younger man’s lips, and it is as if a barrier drops. Where every shift he has seen the smaller leopard do in the past is slow, this is far from it. In under a minute his skin starts to ripple, the fur starts on his hands and quickly travels up his arms, his muscles and bones change, and he watches as his clothing has been absorbed into the change. When Eggsy drops to all four, it is with the confidence of someone who is familiar with his own form and the difference between the centers of gravity each form. His tail slashes through the air as he finishes his change. Dark humor fills the younger man’s feline eyes as he lifts his head and roars, tearing through the entire building if the fact they heard it up here is anything to go by. It’s remarkable.

Merlin is right that his mate is smaller than him. Eggsy’s body is lithe as a human and just as lithe as a cat. Everything about him screams that they are mates, particularly the rosette pattern he can clearly see on the screen.

He will definitely carry through with his plans.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Publishing schedule, I will update one or two stories on Saturday, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
> 
> My tumblr with information on stories and myself [JaimiStoryTeller](http://jaimistoryteller.tumblr.com/)
> 
> I love reviews, comments, and any other sort of communication, feel free to stop in to say hi


	13. Aborted Confrontation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, first off: I am really sorry its been so long since this has been updated, real life has been crazy, those of you who follow my other stories know about it, but for those who don't, I had a medication change at the beginning of the month that made me sleep for 18+ hours for 8 days, and took me nearly three weeks to get used to, then there was a family situation I had to deal with. Past that, I have had a bit of a block on what these two were doing next, I was really rather happy when inspiration finally struck. I hope you all enjoy even though its a bit short

Eggsy’s POV  
After playing with the others as cats for a few minutes, he returns to his human form, focusing on keeping his clothes on. It’s been awhile since he has fully shifted and doesn’t want to end up completely naked, however he knows that it's also suspicious if he has a perfect shift, so he makes sure his jacket and shirt hit the ground instead.

“Very good!” the shifting instructor praises him, “Beautifully done, most new students lose their clothes, so the fact you only lost the clothes off your top half is quite well done.”

“Me friend Jamal is a shifter, he said make sure I remember my clothes when shifting back, that a lot of new shifters don’t have clothes.” He responds, shrugging and rolling his shoulders a bit because it has been a while since he changed. Still it had felt good to be a cat, to have all his senses focused so clearly.

Had he not known from seeing Harry they were mates, the older man’s scent would have given it away. It was warm, spicy, and above all, welcoming.

“Mind I get a drink?” he queries, motioning to the corner where the fridge is kept at stocked.

“Go right ahead,” she tells him with a nod and small smile, her attention turning to one of the others.

His small group of new friends returns to their human forms, joining him. Gazelle and Roxy both have smug looks while Oren seems amazed.

“I love your cat Eggsy,” Roxy comments, “though it was odd how little scent you give off.”

He shrugs, commenting, “Maybe it’s cuz I am mixed breed.”

Her eyes narrow and she looks doubtful but she thankfully doesn’t push it.

“How’d you do it mutt?” Charlie demands as he saunters over.

A smirk plays at the edge of his lips as he responds, “Dunno whatcha are talking about.”

“Mutts never shift that smoothly. Not even pure bloods do and they get training from family, tutoring and have it all explained.” The bully snarls, his scent furious and confused.

“Maybe they don’t cause they are a bit too pure, if you know what I mean.” He retorts with a blank face.

“Why you little-“ Charlie snarls, cutting himself off as he is balling his fist and looking like he is about to strike him.

“Try me,” he states at the exact same time.

When the other shifter does so, anger apparently getting the best of him, he is surprised to see Harry grabbing his hand. What is Harry doing here? He wasn’t here earlier, it was part of why he decided to do the shift today.

Steady eyes coolly gaze at Charlie as his Harry softly asks, “Do you really think that is a good idea?”

For a moment Charlie seems like he is going to say something but he unballs his fist, muttering, “No sir.”

“Good,” Harry comments, releasing his hold and motioning for him to leave without saying anything.

With a huff the other shifter leaves, glaring at everyone and everything, scent full of anger and frustration.

“I’m not sure that was actually a good thing or not,” he remarks, taking in Harry’s satisfied scent.

“Possibly not,” his mate agrees with a slight shrug.

Shrugging, he offers a smile, “I need to see if there is anything more for the day.”

“Of course,” Harry replies, stepping back further, commenting, “Congratulations on achieving your second form.”

“Thanks,” he responds with a nod.

Without saying anything further, he returns to where the instructor is speaking to one of the assistance. They are discussing the fact all the students in the building have completed a full shift.

“Now then,” she says a bit louder, motioning the others closer, “We are going to spend a little bit practicing our full shifts.”

He nods, his mind divided as he tries to figure out why Harry was there. Does Harry know what his second form is? If he doesn’t he is about to, he thinks, that’s alright though. Makes the fact he is going to start flirting easier. On the plus side, his potential mate is definitely easy on the eyes.

As his eyes wander to where the other snow leopard is standing, he thinks, oh yeah. Very easy on the eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Publishing schedule, I will update one or two stories on Saturday, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
> 
> My tumblr with information on stories and myself [JaimiStoryTeller](http://jaimistoryteller.tumblr.com/)
> 
> I love reviews, comments, and any other sort of communication, feel free to stop in to say hi


	14. Wandering Eyes

Harry’s POV  
He watches the rest of the class, eyes continuously wandering back to his potential mate as the younger man changes with ease. The longer the class works on their shifting, the sweatier most of them get from the energy it takes to shift. He is amazed at the fact that Eggsy doesn’t seem to sweat as much as some of the others. Instead he completes each transition smoothly.

Giving a shake of his head, he tears his eyes away, drawing his attention back to Tamlin, one of the medical staff who wishes to speak with him.

“Forgive me,” he murmurs, “I seem to be distracted.”

She smiles playfully, eyes sweeping over the group he was just watching, “It’s alright, Mr. Hart, he’s very charismatic for someone who’s mixed. I know I like watching when he does runs on the equipment.” She tilts her head, “His cat must give him great sense of balance because it’s amazing watching the fluidity he moves.”

He nods and smiles, happy he is not blushing when he wa quite sure that he was going to. He’s been acting like a teenager just discovering how scents affect him. How frustrating. He can’t remember feeling like this before. Even as a teenage he hadn’t felt his eyes drawn quite so much to those he feels are attractive. Of course, as a teenager, he knew that anyone he flirted with were just temporary partners. He wasn’t going to marry anyone other than his mate. Since none of the people he met back then were his mate, that made it easier. He never actually met anyone who tempted him into not waiting.

Again his eyes glance over to the students changing forms, before he suggests, “Perhaps we should step into the office?”

Chuckling, she nods in agreement, turning and heading towards it.

He follows after one last glance, eyes lingering for just a moment on the other snow leopard.

-o-O-o-

Eggsy’s POV  
He feels it every time that Harry looks over at him, dark eyes burning as they sweep over him as he smoothly moves between forms. Internally smirking, he makes sure to show off, burning some of the built up energy he has from not shifting for the last several weeks. Considering before he got caught he would spend at least one night a week with his friend Jamal as cats, this is definitely the longest he has been without shifting since he figured out how to shift, well, there is a lot of energy built up. Even when he was in boot camp, he managed to find somewhere to shift at least once a week.

When Harry heads into one of the offices with a member of the medical staff, he turns his attention back to the instructor. Listening to her advice, and applying it, well applying the parts that he finds useful. Some of what she suggests are things he bypassed long before with his shifting, finding ways that were better for him. He could probably shift on the go if he needed  to, but that is definitely not something he plans on advertising. He knows that it is something that will be covered and he will probably play dumb during that time frame, rather than showing off what he can do.

The part of the course that he is looking forward to is the outside training. His cat has never actually been outdoors, and he is eagerly anticipating that. He’s curious what it will be like to have fresh air against his whiskers, filling his senses. How the many different plants and animals will smell, taste, sound like. Whether he will want to run or relax, climb or play, hunt or longue. So many questions he is looking forward to finding out the answer to.

When the instructor calls for the end of class, his eyes flicker towards the office Harry had vanished into before he shrugs, and asks his small group of friends, “Get cleaned up and meet up for lunch?”

“Sounds good,” Roxy agrees with a nod, brushing her hair away from her face because she forgot about the hair tie while shifting.

“You’re barely sweating,” Gazelle comments, eyes looking over him, nose twitching lightly.

He shrugs, a bland expression on his face,“I was cold, maybe it just heated me up.”

“Right,” the two girls drawl at the same time, pulling the word out to make it sound multisyllable.

All five of them smiles at each other, before nodding and heading  upstairs and splitting up to go to the separate wings. Oren and him, head to the boys dormitories, while Amelia, Roxy, and Gazelle head towards the girls dormitories.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is relatively short, but for some reason, even though I know what I want to happen and when, this story is difficult for me to type up. My brain keeps going to my other stories and what not instead. I can happily report though, that I have the next 2 chapters done and ready for posting, over the next few weeks. 
> 
> I've updated my publishing schedule, I will still update one or two stories on Saturday, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The stories that will be updated depend on the day:  
>  **Saturday:** Gift for John, Choices, Right Decision, Clandesitne, Changes, Powers That Be  
>  **Monday:** Patron, Lost and Found, Baker Street Polyamory, Kingsman Academy, Oral Fixation, Daughter  
>  **Wednesday:** Seeking, Trial  & Error, Healing, Distraction, Learning to Live, Fae Born  
>  **Friday:** Stillness in Silence, Recruited, Changes Continue, Unexplained, Unusual Relationship, Blessed
> 
> Tumblr about stories and myself [JaimiStoryTeller](http://jaimistoryteller.tumblr.com/)
> 
> I love reviews, comments, and any other sort of communication, feel free to stop in to say hi


	15. Lunch

Eggsy’s POV  
His shower is quick, mostly just to get the sweat off of his body. Getting out, he shifts in the middle of his room, taking his time stretching and working all the kinks out of his body before returning to his human shape and getting  dressed. 

The walk to the dining room is quick, he hums, just about dancing as he does so, toes and heels tapping alternately.

In the dining room, he spots Oren, Roxy, and Gazelle all seated together and chatting. With a smile, he heads in that direction, settling on the last chair in the set that they are not in. 

“That was amazing, Eggsy,” Oren tells him as he settles into the seat. “Though you shift smoother than anyone else I have seen learning.”

He just shrugs, replying, “Eh, Jamal told me about his shifting often enough, plus we have the classes, maybe I just got lucky.” He definitely is not saying how long he’s been shifting. 

“Right,” the girls drawls again, sharing a smile and chuckling. 

His lips quirk in a smirk, but he doesn’t actually respond.

When the staff sets out the food, he thanks the one closest to him, before making himself a plate. Then it clicks, the food was set on the tables, like at dinner time, rather than on the buffet. For a minute he studies the options, before nodding and going back to  making his plate. “So, Oren, what’s your plan since tomorrow you move to the city?” he queries as he does so.

Blushing, the lynx dips his head, grabbing a roll and mumbling, “Jamal and I are going to go look for a flat together.”

Chuckling, he comments, “He hogs the blankets.”

Oren blushes even brighter, before his features flash in confusion, “I, uh, you shared a bed?”

Tilting his head slightly, he frowns at the confusion as he considers the question. “We’ve been friends since we were children. We’ve slept curled up together as kids when we had sleepovers, as teenager when comforting each other for some reason, and as adults when he’s let me and Daisy stay with him cause of Dean being drunk and stupid.” 

Immediately, the lynx looks away, his blush fading but his scent filling with embarrassment. 

“Hey,” he lightly elbows the slightly older shifter, “It’s alright.” When Oren doesn’t respond and his scent stays embarrassed, he remarks, “It really is, I can understand why you’d wanna know.”

“It really was an honest question,” Roxy offers, nodding once, “I was wondering the same thing.”

Before he has a chance to say something else, Harry settles into the seat beside him, giving him a warm smile, then setting to making his plate. Merlin and Percy settle at the table on the other side of Harry.

Well this could be interesting, he thinks, might be a perfect chance to actually do some flirting. 

For a few minutes he listens while the girls quiz the lynx about what sort of flat he would like. 

Eventually he glances at Harry, querying, “Pass the salt, please, ‘arry.” 

The older leopard blinks at him for a moment, a small smile tugging at his lips as he replies, “Of course, Eggsy,” reaching for it with his left hand, his voice smooth.

When he accepts the salt, he makes sure their fingers touch, lingering even, before he lightly salts his potatoes. “Thanks, ‘arry,” he murmurs, taking his time drawing Harry’s name out.

From the corner of his eye he watches the shared look of amusement that the girls share, but neither says anything. Gazelle does give him a rather loud look, eyes dancing with mischief and understanding. 

“Any other useful things about Jamal I might need to know?” Oren inquires, the embarrassment now faded. “Like are their certain foods he’s allergic too? Does he have a side of the bed preference? Does he like to eat out or cook? Is he a night owl or morning bird? Does he spend a lot of time as a cat? Is he close with his family? Does he have family?” The questions are rapid fire, reminding him of when they first talked and he spoke fast all of the time.

Grinning, he takes his time answering the questions, starting with the information about Jamal’s family and working his way up to the question about the bed. 

“Eggsy, dear boy, please hand me a roll.” Harry inquires right before he answers the last question, there is something interesting about his tone, it is tense, and there is something interesting about his scent though he can’t quite put his finger on.

“A’course,” he replies, grabbing the fluffiest looking roll in the bunch and offering it to his possible mate as he answers Oren, “‘e always preferred being closer to the door.”

He has to bite back a smirk as he realizes what it is in the older leopard’s scent when Harry takes the roll, their fingers brushing softly. Now that’s interesting. His possible mate is jealous about the idea that he slept with someone else. Should he tell Harry it was only platonic? Nah, not just yet, he’ll let Harry stew on it for a bit. 

“He also a bit cuddly,” he offers, enjoying the spike in his potential mate’s scent. Oh, that bothers Harry a lot. 

Smiling at him, almost oblivious it seems, the lynx comments, “Thanks Eggsy.”

“Notta problem Oren, not a problem,” he responds with a nod.

“So, Eggsy,” Gazelle’s expression turns mischievous as her eyes flicker between him and Harry, “Do you have a lady friend wait for you?”

His eyes narrow on her for a moment, because it’s definitely a topic they’ve discussed previously. “Nah, no birds in the wing.”

“Oh, what a shame,” the panther just about coos.

“‘arry, can you pass the macaroni salad?” he queries, motioning to the one closer to Merlin, it appears to have ham in it unlike the one nearest him which is chicken.

Lifting the bowl, Harry offers it to him, lips quirking in a curious smile as his eyes flicker to the other one, “Of course, dear boy,” Harry comments, “here you are.”

“Thanks,” he carefully takes the bowl, his hands brushing against the older leopards as he takes it, “The ‘am one looks good, and the one nearest me looks like chicken or turkey.”

“It’s quite good,” the older leopard remarks with a nod and a small smile, their eyes meeting for a moment before the older man returns to his conversation with Merlin. 

He serves himself some of the macaroni salad before commenting, “‘ere you go ‘arry, thanks again.”

Shock flashes across his possible mate’s eyes as he takes the bowl back, their fingers brushing briefly. “You’re welcome,” Harry replies with a smile. 

Several more minutes pass as he eats and speaks with his small group, half his attention and senses actually on Harry, though he is not rude enough to listen to the older man’s conversation. 

Harry reaches for the pepper sitting between their plates, his upper arm and shoulder brushing against his as he does so, body angling in his direction for a moment, a small smile playing on the edge of his lips when their eyes meet briefly. 

Beautiful chocolate eyes, he thinks as he smiles back, asking Gazelle, “Do you have a bird in the wings?” 

She just about cackles as she answers, “Not currently, I seem to scare them off, though there are a few I wouldn’t mind dalliances with under the clear understanding they’re just dalliances.” 

Amelia pipes in with, “Dalliances can be fun, but shouldn’t take the place of proper relationships.”

He nods in agreement, “Though a proper relationship should be a dalliance too, that way it’s as fun as it’s serious.”

“That’s very true, Eggsy,” Roxy comments, nodding and smiling slightly as her eyes slide between him and Harry. 

“What’s your view on touch, Eggsy?” Gazelle queries, that mischievous smile firmly in place.

“I’m a tactile person with those I am close to, or wanna be close to, everyone else better keep their paws to themselves.” he replies, reaching out to grab the pepper shaker, and brushing against Harry as he does so. 

“That’s probably a side effect of your cat,” Oren comments, “It’s not uncommon for the second form to have effects on behavior and first form actions.”

That’s probably true, he thinks, remembering that he became much more tactile after his first successful change, but only with people he trusted. It was a sad thing when he realized he didn’t trust his mum, but not surprising considering the fact she had brought Dean into their lives. Jamal and Daisy were the two there was the most effect with. Now he is slowly adding Roxy, Gazelle, and Oren to those numbers, and he wants to add Harry to that list, willing touching the older man, lightly, teasingly.

He just smiles, lightly peppering the roll he just buttered, before putting the pepper back in the exact same spot. 

The rest of lunch goes like that, with them each lightly touching each other with the least possible reason, all of the touches could be considered accidently but he knows his are on purpose, and after the third ‘accidental’ touch on Harry’s part, he is pretty sure that it is intentional on his side. 

Roughly five minutes before their free period for lunch is done, he cleans his plate up and bids them goodbye until later, citing he has to get his stuff from his room. Roxy and Gazelle both give him knowing looks, Harry actively doesn’t look at him, but he can feel the older man’s eyes glancing over him as he walks away, and he exaggerates the sway of his hips just the slightest, knowing he is drawing Harry’s attention to his arse. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've updated my publishing schedule, I will still update one or two stories on Saturday, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The stories that will be updated depend on the day:  
>  **Saturday:** Gift for John, Choices, Right Decision, Clandesitne, Changes, Powers That Be  
>  **Monday:** Patron, Lost and Found, Baker Street Polyamory, Kingsman Academy, Oral Fixation, Daughter  
>  **Wednesday:** Seeking, Trial  & Error, Healing, Distraction, Learning to Live, Fae Born  
>  **Friday:** Stillness in Silence, Recruited, Changes Continue, Unexplained, Unusual Relationship, Blessed
> 
> Tumblr about my stories and myself [JaimiStoryTeller](http://jaimistoryteller.tumblr.com/)
> 
> I love reviews, comments, and any other sort of communication, feel free to stop in to say hi


	16. Quick Chat

Harry’s POV

When Eggsy remarks that his friend likes to sleep closer to the door, and it is implied that his possible mate sleeps with someone else, it leaves very bitter taste in his mouth. Making him a combination of angry and jealous faster than he can catch his breath. It’s not like he has an actual right to be jealous, he reminds himself, Eggsy is a healthy adult, of course he has had previous relationships. Yet that doesn’t make him feel better, and it takes all of his self control to keep his face bland when the panther asks about significant others.

He’s not admitting exactly how much relief he feels at the fact that Eggsy is currently single. Though he wonders, is he single because he hasn’t found anyone interesting or because the person he was dating is now in an active relationship with Oren? That is definitely not something he wants to dwell on, he is sure it would not be good for his mental health. Still, a small voice in the back of his mind taunts him about Eggsy having had other lovers, have had other people’s hands touching him in the most intimate of ways.

He is startled when Eggsy requests the salt, particularly when he can see that there is a salt easily within the younger snow leopards reach, but he still passes it to him. A jolt of pleasure and shock rushes through him when their skin brushes against each other. At first he is sure it was an accident, but over the course of the meal it happens several more times.

Curious about the sort of reaction he will get, he asks for a roll from the set closer to Eggsy and his eyes widen in shock when the younger man plucks one out of the basket and offers it rather than offering him the basket.

The rest of the meal is much the same, with each asking for things from the other and brushing against each other when accepting whatever they ask for. He attempts to hold a conversation with Merlin and Percy, but they are doing most of the talking because he keeps getting distracted. Something both of his friends seem to find rather amusing.

When Eggsy leaves to fetch his things so he can meet back up with Percy, he excuses himself as well, embarrassed over the way his eyes were wandering again. He really does need to get a hold of himself.

He has just left the dining room, when Roxy catches up with him, asking, “Hey Harry, can I have a word with you?”

He stops turning to her and smiling, “Of course, what do you need Roxy?”

Her smile is gentle as she answers, “It’s not what I need but what you should know. You missed the first part of the conversation, but Eggsy doesn’t have sex with Jamal, never has, their bed sharing was always platonic.”

He smiles at her, nodding and blushing slightly, because of the relief that just about pours through him. Why hadn’t Eggsy corrected his assumption? He wonders, then realizes that Eggsy either didn’t know he assumed something, or didn’t care. After all, he is quite sure the younger man is unaware that they are possible mates. Or is he? He sure was flirting a lot over lunch for someone who is unaware. Unless he just happens to be Eggsy’s type, and that’s why the younger snow leopard was flirting. After all, Eggsy wasn’t raised in a shifter household where mate’s were the only serious relationships.

Besides, it sound like he thinks a serious relationship should also be a relaxed one, at least that’s the impression he got. Was Eggsy trying to tell him something or is he reading into something that he shouldn’t be.

“Thank you, Roxy, for telling me.” He comments then softly asks, “Why are you telling me this?”

Her smile warms as she replies, “You’re mates,” she shrugs, “Well, possible mates. I know your markings, I’ve seen your cat plenty of times, and I saw Eggsy’s. Snow leopards are rare, so having two of you with the same markings in my life makes it pretty easy to understand.”

He blinks for a moment, startled that she had noticed, and wondering who else figured it out. “You seem quite certain.”

Chuckling, she pats his arm lightly, almost reassuringly, “Like I said, I’ve known you all my life, I always wanted to be a cat because of how beautiful your second form was. Which is part of why it’s been so hard adjusting to wings, but they are really growing on me.”

“I hadn’t realized,” he comments softly, “Your falcon is quite beautiful. I am certain you will come to love your wings and ability to fly.”

She nods, her smile turning wistful, “Anyways,” she says with a small shake of her head, “I thought you would like to know. Also, I am moderately certain that courting would be an acceptable offer.” Her smile turns mischievous, “At least if we go off of how lunch went. I got to get to my lessons, but thought you’d want to know that.”

“It is indeed very useful information,” he responds with a nod. “Thank you.” He smirks, hand waving in a shooing motion in her direction, “Now off you get, if you’re too late send Mindy to me.”

Shaking her head and chuckling, she heads off, looping away with a practiced ease of someone used to speed walking.

That was a rather insightful chat, he thinks as he heads towards his office. He’s grateful she told him, though how bad did he embarrass himself if she noticed enough to feel the need to tell him? Or is it only because they have known each other for so long? After all, he can still remember when she was a toddler, chasing her parents and uncle around, always wanting to see them shift. Most of her family are birds of prey, except for one of her distant cousins who turned into a bob cat.

Before he actually reaches his office, the headmaster pages him on the small speaker on his glasses.

“Mr. Hart, I need to speak with you,” the older shifter’s voice grumbles across the line, “You need to fetch another student.”

“Be right there,” he replies, reaching up to click them off immediately following that.

Damn it, he really hates when things interfere with his plans. Unfortunately, he still has to do his job, even if he really would rather be working on courting his possible mate. Still, that just gives him more time to think about what to do. Plus analyze every tease and flirt of today’s lunch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've updated my publishing schedule, I will still update one or two stories on Saturday, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The stories that will be updated depend on the day:  
>  **Saturday:** Gift for John, Choices, Right Decision, Clandesitne, Changes, Powers That Be  
>  **Monday:** Patron, Lost and Found, Baker Street Polyamory, Kingsman Academy, Oral Fixation, Daughter  
>  **Wednesday:** Seeking, Trial  & Error, Healing, Distraction, Learning to Live, Fae Born  
>  **Friday:** Stillness in Silence, Recruited, Changes Continue, Unexplained, Unusual Relationship, Blessed
> 
> Tumblr about my writing: [JaimiStoryTeller](http://jaimistoryteller.tumblr.com/)
> 
> I love reviews, comments, and any other sort of communication, feel free to stop in to say hi


	17. Leaving

Harry’s POV  
He is being sent to the middle of Scotland, apparently there are reports of a massive wolf running around one of the small communities. Since it’s been nearly three hundred years since the last wolf lived there, well it’s either an unregistered shifter without training, or a shifter who moved to the area and is registered elsewhere.

Packing a bag, he tries not to grumble to himself about this, how is he to woo his possible mate if he is in a different part of the country? A separate country for that matter. 

On the bright side, it gives him more time to think about what he wants to do with Eggsy. 

Eggsy spent all of their lunch flirting with him, but all of it was subtle, not really out in the open. 

He enjoyed it, once he got past the overwhelming feelings of jealousy, he even joined in the flirting, enjoying the scent of his mate feeling pleasure. Every time they brushed against each other, the younger man smelled pleased, happy, even a little playful.  The conversation had been mostly light hearted, even the parts that made him jealous. 

Though now that he thinks about it, there was no longing or lust in Eggsy’s scent when he spoke of Jamal, only affection. Why had he gotten so jealous when there is obviously no reason for it? Well, he hadn’t known that when they were sitting there. He still wouldn’t know if not for Roxy telling him about the pre-conversation. A part of him wants to know why Eggsy wasn’t the one to tell him. Yet, another part of his mind figures Eggsy probably thinks he heard the first part or intentionally wanted him jealous. It is definitely something to consider. 

Finishing packing his clothes, he wants to go bid farewell to Eggsy, but he doesn’t. After all, at this point their relationship is not that close. 

Instead, he heads to his best friend’s office, knocking twice before entering. 

“I have the info for ya Harry,” the bald man comments, “I gathered information on all the new people, who in the area has a shifter in the family, and booked ya a room for the next two weeks. Ya get to drive yerself.”

“Thank you,” he replies, “I wish to bid Eggsy goodbye, but there is no logical reason for me to do so. At this point we are not friends, though we are acquaintances. I’m aware he is my mate, well could be my mate if he accepts my suit.” He sighs, straightening his glasses out, “This is very frustrating. I do not know if he is aware that we are mate’s or if he is flirting just because. Roxy seems to think it’s the first, however she has only known him a short while, so she could be wrong.”

“I’d offer ya a drink, but ya need to be goin’,” Merlin responds with a mischievous smile. “Meybe pick up a gift or two while ya’re away.”

“But what to get him? I haven’t known him very long, nor do I know him very well, at least at this point.” He responds with an arched eyebrow. 

“Come, now, Harry, ya’re tellin’ me that you haven’t been payin’ attention to his behavior and choices? Get him books about his chosen field,” the taller man suggests, “After all, ya know what he is plannin on doin’ with his life.”

He nods thoughtfully, thinking about the fact there are probably a lot of books that might be useful. The key is getting some that will be useful and not insulting. After all, he has seen exactly how skilled Eggsy is at doing the various actions, routines, and movements. Perhaps one about teaching or a book that covers several different types or maybe one that is about the history of it. Hmmm, he’ll have to see what he can find. 

“I will see if there is any book stores between here and there,” he remarks, “Now I will be off.”

His mind whirls, as he leaves the office. He’ll be gone two to three weeks. Probably less because he is good at tracking down shifters, partials, and unrealized. That’s why he has the job he has. Past that, he is good at talking to them, of all the people that have been sent over the years to deal with new shifters and shifters in hiding, he is one of the best because he pays attention to his senses and what experience is telling him about the new ones. He has a lot of practice reading the situation and reacting accordingly. 

He heads to the front door, knowing one of the staff members would have already put his bag in the car already and the driver would have already prepared the car. Sure enough, his bag is in the car, and the car is full of fuel and ready to go.

He stops himself from glancing back as he gets in the car and leaves, though he can feel that someone is watching from one of the windows. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \---AO3---  
> I've updated my publishing schedule, I will still update one or two stories on Saturday, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The stories that will be updated depend on the day:  
>  **Saturday:** Gift for John, Choices, Right Decision, Clandesitne, Changes, Powers That Be  
>  **Monday:** Patron, Lost and Found, Baker Street Polyamory, Kingsman Academy, Oral Fixation, Daughter  
>  **Wednesday:** Seeking, Trial  & Error, Healing, Distraction, Learning to Live, Fae Born  
>  **Friday:** Stillness in Silence, Recruited, Changes Continue, Unexplained, Unusual Relationship, Blessed
> 
> Tumblr about my writing: [JaimiStoryTeller](http://jaimistoryteller.tumblr.com/)
> 
> I love reviews, comments, and any other sort of communication, feel free to stop in to say hi
> 
> I hope everyone had a good memorial day


	18. Nightmare

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Warnings:** implied/referenced drug use, implied/referenced child abuse, implied/referenced violence, implied/referenced bloodsports 
> 
> Sorry this is a few hours later, I wanted to do some editing but it has been a stressful week since my beloved Ashei, the oldest of my cats, died yesterday and we took her to be cremated today. 
> 
> I hope everyone enjoys

Eggsy’s POV

He notices that Harry is not with them at dinner time. For a moment he considers asking where he went, but decides against that because he doesn’t have a valid reason to ask. Yes, they have communicated more over meals lately but that doesn’t equal friendship. Hell, he’s not even sure the older man realizes that they could be mates. Yeah, Harry has been flirting with him, but that could be because he started the flirting. He’s seen people like that before. 

So he does the trick he learned living with Dean around, he stays in the conversation he is in, responding and asking questions as it continues, but keeps his listening to the older people’s conversation by switching to his cat hearing instead of his human hearing. Doing so allows him to discover that Harry has been sent to deal with a possible hiding shifter or one who has moved and didn’t register that xe were moving. The last possibility is that the shifter doesn’t know that xe are a shifter. Its rare, but some people who have shifter blood get bitten by a rogue shifter and change. Those changes are uncontrolled, and often not realized as the shifter has black outs. It is the the last kind that are the reason for the schools and laws being what they are. To protect shifters and the public. 

Well that explains why he isn’t here, he thinks, though I wish I would have had a chance to tell him good luck. Internally shaking his head, he switches back to using human hearing and paying more attention to the others. 

After dinner he returns to his room to work on some of his assignments, going through the books and doing the reading to start with. He might not be the biggest reader, but he is enjoying learning new things about a topic he wishes to teach someday and has helped him stay safe without having to rely on his cat.  

Eventually he gets up to stretch because his body does not like how still he is being. While he is stretching, he thinks, well I should probably work on finishing up this weeks assignments for my A-levels classes. I have to finish them before I finish my bachelor’s degree. Groaning, cause he really rather keep working on the bachelor degree stuff more, he settles back on his bed, switching out assignments to work on. 

He continues to work well into the night, until he eventually falls asleep, head crashing on the pillow next to the book.

_The rank smell of filth and burning flesh  fills the air, burning his human senses, and making him happy he has very good control of his cat senses. His eyes water as he moves into an area that is full of smoke. Blinking, he tries to make out what is on the fire pit, only to scream in terror as he realizes it is his sister._

_What the hell is going on? Daisy! Why is she on that fire? Where the hell are they?_

_He tries to rush to her side, only to have hands grabbing him, jerking him backwards and holding him in place as the gruesome scene takes place. He fights, body changing as he takes his hybrid form, his only desire to get to his sister. The feel of something blunt slamming into the back of his head is the last thing he knows._

_His eyes flicker and he groans as he sits up, trying to remember what happened. Daisy! Someone hurt Daisy! She was burned, but he doesn’t know if she was alive or dead for the burning, it doesn’t matter they hurt his sister! Whoever it is, is going to die just as soon as he figures out how to get out of this cage he is in._

_As he searches for an exit, using all of his senses to do so, he realizes that there are many other cages all around him, and a large pit in the middle of the room. Terror and dread fill his senses as he watches a girl with the bottom of her legs missing thrown into it. A moment later a black panther missing part of her legs replaces the girl and he realizes in shock that it’s Gazelle._

_Two of the cages are opens, hot pokers being jabbed through them in order to force the shifters in them out and into the ring. When they get close to each other they snap and snarl, growling and hissing, lashing out with claws and teeth._

_Ferals, he realizes, those are ferals being used to fight._

_When the feral notice the handicapped panther, they turn to her, attacking her over and over again, until there is nothing left but a bloody mess of flesh and bones that once belonged to the girl he is slowly coming to call friend._

_He screams in terror and rage as they throw a familiar cat in the ring, an iron band around his neck._

He comes awake with a start, jerking upright as his senses flare between cat and human, tracking everything within his range. 

Shaking his head, he rubs his eyes, before glancing at the clock. Still two and a half hours until he can officially leave his room. Glancing at the book he was working out of prior to falling asleep, he gazes at the picture of a child being burned. According to the notes, the child was poisoned first, to  make sure it couldn’t escape, and burned to make sure it couldn’t come back from the dead. 

That’s it, he thinks, no more history for me before bed. Not if I am going to be having dreams like that. 

Standing and stretching, he decides on a hot shower, wash away all of the sweat covering his body. Once under the water he spends several long minutes with his eyes shut, just letting the water and steam fill his senses clearing what remains from the dream. 

On the next saturday he will go visit his sister. Maybe he will call her here in a bit, when he knows she is awake. His mum won’t be happy being called too early, particularly since she was a bit unsure what to do now that Dean is never coming back. 

His third visit home had been stressful. Daisy was sleeping thankfully, when their mum decided to start in on him on ruining everything. How it was his fault the only person who wanted her was gone. How he was the one who made Dean violent, how she hates being alone. She had ranted for nearly an hour before he had finally put a stop to it. Reminding her why he went after Dean and what had got him outed as a shifter. After that she had been embarrassed, and so very apologetic. 

Apparently with Dean gone her reason for drinking and doing drugs is gone too. So she is  detoxing, which really was a sucky thing. She tells him all about how thankful she is for Jamal’s help, the fact his friend will watch Daisy when the bad waves hit. She is even making friends with their other neighbor, a friendly woman named Mindy who is teaching her how to cook Mexican foods. 

Opening his eyes, he finishes washing up before getting out of the shower. 

After he gets dressed, he spends a little bit of time doing stretches, waiting for the curfew to be over so he can go call his mum and speak with his sister. When he finally gets a chance to do so, relief pours through him, almost making him weak in the knees. Still, he loves listening to her innocent babbling, the not quite words that she is using to communicate. He hates it when he has to get off the phone, but figures he better get breakfast before it ends. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've updated my publishing schedule, I will still update one or two stories on Saturday, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The stories that will be updated depend on the day:  
>  **Saturday:** Gift for John, Choices, Right Decision, Clandesitne, Changes, Powers That Be  
>  **Monday:** Patron, Lost and Found, Baker Street Polyamory, Kingsman Academy, Oral Fixation, Daughter  
>  **Wednesday:** Seeking, Trial  & Error, Healing, Distraction, Learning to Live, Fae Born  
>  **Friday:** Stillness in Silence, Recruited, Changes Continue, Unexplained, Unusual Relationship, Blessed
> 
> Tumblr about my writing: [JaimiStoryTeller](http://jaimistoryteller.tumblr.com/)
> 
> I love reviews, comments, and any other sort of communication, they keep me motivated to write, feel free to stop in to say hi


	19. Long Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eggsy feels distracted all day and things goes wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *waves* thank you lovely people who have commented and given my encouragement. I hope you enjoy, I know its rather short but it's what my muse went with after this very shitty month. While I cannot promise when I will have another update for you all, I can say I plan to make this my Camp NaNo project in hopes of getting it done so I can start regularly posting again. Thanks again to everyone still with me!

Eggsy’s POV

As soon as the curfew lifts, he’s on the phone, calling his mum to put his sister on. She’s not actually talking in full words yet, but she’s getting closer. He talks with her until he hears her falling asleep in their mum’s arms.

“Thank you,” he tells his mum, relief washing through him because Daisy is fine.

“You’re welcome, Eggsy,” she replies, voice a bit rough suddenly. “Do you know when you’ll be able to visit again?”

“Probably this weekend,” he answers, feeling a bit confused. What’s going on that she seems a bit upset? “Wot’s wrong?”

For whatever reason, speaking with her almost always results in his old speaking habits coming to the forefront.

“Nothing, Eggsy, I promise,” she says, deflecting since he can clearly hear that something is off. “We can discuss it when you visit.”

So there is something going on that his currently sober mum thinks they need to talk about. It’s not life threatening, or she’d probably sound worse, so it’s probably something about either the flat or his sister. In either event, he’s going to feel antsy about it until he is able to visit and find out what’s wrong.

He hears the doorbell in the background, and his mum sounds distracted when she states, “See ya Saturday Eggsy.”

“Bye,” he replies before the line goes dead.

For a moment he stands there feeling a bit confused. Shaking his head, he puts the phone up and heads to breakfast. Now he needs to make sure all of his new friends are alright since they were included in his nightmares. Thankfully nightmares don’t generally come true, otherwise he’d be a hell of a lot more bothered than he currently is.

Breakfast goes smoothly. He enjoys chatting with them and continues to ignore the arses of their academy.

His early classes seem to fly by, though he is still a bit distracted by the nightmare and the fact there is something his mum wants to talk to him about.

By lunch time he’s pretty sure that he’s got it under control, and if he doesn’t it’s definitely a relief that he can multitask with the best of them. He refuses to allow his assignments or studies to fall behind. The sooner he can finish things up, the sooner he can move on with his life. Mainly the part where he gets to see his sister more often and possibly have something develop with Harry.

Harry.

Hopefully everything is alright with his mate. Yes they haven’t formalized things or even discussed it but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t care. He’s got a feeling that the older cat is waiting until he is no longer in a position of power over him before beginning the courtship. Although he could be wrong.

After discovering that he has a mate, he did some research. Discovering that his variety of cat is one of the few in which all sexes can get pregnant. Which means he might carry them a pup later down the road. First though, they definitely need to figure out what they are.

His afternoon classes go by in a flash, and if he wasn’t writing detailed notes about what he needs to work on out of habit, he’d probably not have a clue.

At dinner everyone seems to be quieter than normal. The air is heavy with worry and sadness, though he can’t figure out why for the life of him. He keeps meaning to ask but keeps getting distracted and he can’t understand why.

After dinner they retreat to the library to study. Or try studying as the case may be. Not that it lasts long. Someone turned on the TV and the news coverage is horrible. A shifter school, one for children, has been razed to the ground. Almost all of the children are missing. Most of the teachers are dead. The arson authorities are stumped and working with shifter authorities to try and find the children before it’s too late.

“Eggsy,” Oren sounds distressed, immediately drawing his attention.

“Yeah?” he mutters, glancing between his friend and the TV.

“That’s the area Harry was sent to find the unidentified shifter,” his friend states, swallowing hard and unable to look away from the TV.

Fuck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Publishing schedule, I will try & update one or two stories on Saturday, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Plus the two advent sets for the month of December.
> 
> Tumblr about my writing [JaimiStoryTeller](http://jaimistoryteller.tumblr.com/money) and twitter to post about drawing & writing @jaimist0
> 
> I love reviews, comments, and any other sort of communication, feel free to stop in to say hi, I particularly love comments on one shots and older stuff.


End file.
